The first phase of offshore oil exploration off Jamaica’s southern coast has just wrapped up. So… did they find oil yet?

A lot of people have been watching closely to see whether United Oil & Gas strikes oil off Jamaica’s coast. But we’re still a ways from that moment.

Drilling hasn’t even started yet.  United Oil & Gas has just completed the first stage of a detailed offshore survey of the Walton-Morant basin.

This is high-resolution mapping of the seafloor. Think of it like creating a super detailed 3D map of what the ocean floor looks like. That map helps scientists figure out exactly where to run more targeted tests.

And this matters because oil exploration is expensive. Companies can’t just drill and hope for the best. They gather layers of data first to reduce the risk.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting.

The company has already completed heat-flow measurements, which help determine whether underground conditions could even support oil generation, and they’re now moving into something called piston coring.

That’s where they extract long tubes of sediment from the seabed and send them to a lab to check for traces of hydrocarbons.

And honestly? This is the moment that really counts.

If those samples show evidence of an active petroleum system, meaning oil was actually generated deep underground and migrated upward, confidence would jump significantly.

If they don’t, that headline-grabbing seven-billion-barrel “potential” number starts to look a lot more theoretical.

So yes, this is basically the moment of truth.

Now, let’s manage expectations.

Even if the lab results come back positive, Jamaica doesn’t suddenly become an oil-producing country overnight. Offshore drilling costs hundreds of millions of US dollars. Smaller exploration companies typically need major partners to fund and execute that phase.

And then there’s the environmental question. Offshore drilling brings economic upside, but also real risks. Any move toward production would involve scrutiny from the regulators and intense public debate.

And that’s the bottom line.