ExxonMobil is aiming to replicate the remarkable success it has had in Guyana, in neighboring Trinidad and Tobago, and even expects the oil and gas development to progress faster there due to T&T’s established industry, deepwater ports and robust infrastructure.
Speaking at the signing of a new Production Sharing Contract (PSC) in Port of Spain on Wednesday, ExxonMobil Vice President and Head of Global Exploration, John Ardill, said the company would, “leverage our presence, rigs, development concepts and pace” from Guyana but move quicker in Trinidad due to conditions already in place.
“In Guyana, these are all things that we had to build over the last 10 years,” Ardill said. “Here, the mature, dynamic industry, robust infrastructure, deepwater ports – these are all things that should allow us to move even faster than Guyana.”
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He noted that Guyana’s offshore development began with 3D seismic work in 2013, the Liza discovery in 2015, and first oil just four and a half years later in 2019. “Today, that’s 10 years after that first discovery. Production is currently around 650,000 barrels a day through three vessels,” Ardill said.
Ardill credited Guyana’s rapid development to a “strong partnership with the government,” which he said ExxonMobil has also established in Trinidad over the past six months. “The PSC negotiations moved at a record pace. We do this all over the world…and this is among the fastest pace of any of those examples.”
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ExxonMobil plans to begin 3D seismic acquisition in Trinidad within six months, targeting the ultra-deepwater block about 190 miles offshore. “While this is still frontier, exploration has great potential in this ultra-deepwater area,” Ardill said. “With success in the subsurface, we see great potential to replicate the Guyana success here.”
Exxon is the operator of the Stabroek block with a 45% stake. Hess owns 30% and CNOOC owns 25%. Exxon currently has three major developments online in the Stabroek Block, producing about 650,000 barrels of oil per day. The fourth, Yellowtail, achieved first oil on August 8.
