Record pace. These are the words being used to describe U.S. oil major ExxonMobil’s operations in Guyana where it has made over 25 discoveries since 2015 at the Stabroek Block, delivering over 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent and 2 developments that will this year triple the South American country’s oil production.
President of ExxonMobil Upstream Oil and Gas, Liam Mallon said the company is collaborating closely with the government and people of Guyana to develop their world-class resource responsibly and is doing so at a “record pace and well ahead of the industry average.”
Just Friday, Exxon announced that its second development – Liza Phase 2 – had started producing at the 6.6 million acres Stabroek Block. When production ramps up later this year, the 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Liza Phase 2 will add to the 120,000 bpd from Phase 1, pushing output to around 340,000 bpd. A third project at Payara is set to come online in 2025 and a fourth at Yellowtail, pending approval, will start-up in 2026.
The SBM Offshore built and operated Liza Unity FPSO arrived in Guyana in October 2021. It is moored in water depth of about 1,650 meters and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude. The Liza Unity is the world’s first FPSO to be awarded the SUSTAIN-1 notation by the American Bureau of Shipping in recognition of the sustainability of its design, documentation, and operational procedures.
“It is clearly a team of teams that delivered Unity to Guyana and got us to the spot where we are now,” said Mike Ryan, Production Manager at ExxonMobil Guyana. This includes the exploration teams that found the prolific reservoirs and the teams that worked on construction and fabrication of the FPSO, the world’s first to achieve SUSTAIN-1 notation.
The SUSTAIN-1 notation demonstrates the vessel’s alignment with key elements of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) requirements outlined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
SBM Offshore is also the builder and operator of the Liza Destiny FPSO, Guyana’s first oil production vessel, and is contracted to deliver the Prosperity and One Guyana FPSOs, for Exxon’s third and fourth developments at Payara and Yellowtail, respectively.
“Our project portfolio stands at a record level with five projects under execution and a large FEED underway for the Yellowtail development project for Exxon in Guyana,” CEO of SBM Offshore, Bruno Chabas said this week.
The current resource at Stabroek Block has the potential to support up to 10 FPSOs. Exxon said it anticipates that four FPSOs with a capacity of more than 800,000 barrels per day will be in operation on the blobk by year-end 2025.
“Timely development of these additional projects and continued exploration success offshore will enable the steady advancement of Guyanese capabilities and enhanced economic growth,” Exxon said.
To date, more than 3,500 Guyanese are now supporting the company’s activities in Guyana. Exxon and its direct contractors have spent approximately $219 million with more than 880 local suppliers in 2021, a 37% year-over-year increase.
