HOUSTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) on

Friday disclosed a new oil and gas discovery in the prolific

Stabroek block offshore Guyana, the company's first announced

discovery in the South American country this year.

The Bluefin discovery joins more than 30 already since 2015

in the Stabroek block, an 6.6 million acre (26,800 square

kilometers) area that has been the site of more than 11 billion

barrels of recoverable oil and gas.

The Bluefin well, located in the southeastern portion of the

Stabroek block and drilled in 4,244 feet of water by the Stena

Drillmax drillship, encountered approximately 197 feet of

hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone, Exxon said.

The company did not estimate recoverable reserves from the

discovery.

"Our exploration program continues to improve our

understanding of the block's potential to drive viable

oil-and-gas development," said the head of Exxon's Guyana

operations, Alistair Routledge.

A consortium led by Exxon began crude output in Guyana in

2019, and has ramped up production to some 650,000 barrels per

day this year. The other members of the consortium are Hess Corp ( HES )

and CNOOC Ltd.

The group is considering its first offshore natural gas

production in Guyana, close to the country's maritime border

with Suriname, which could come from its seventh project in the

South American nation.