The Guyana government is close to granting approval for ExxonMobil’s 3rd development at the Stabroek Block, which will pave the way for a Final Investment Decision for the 220,000 barrels of oil per day project.
“The Attorney General is currently engaging ExxonMobil’s legal team,” Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, told OilNOW. This, he confirmed, is based on the agreement that has been drawn up for the project.
Mr. Bharrat had told OilNOW that technical and legal teams from the Department of Energy and ExxonMobil were working on finalising the agreement.
The Natural Resources ministry had said the review process headed by former Premier of Alberta, Canada, Alison Redford QC, would take on a multi-agency approach and would include the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Environmental Protection Agency and technical officers of the Petroleum Division “to ensure maximum benefits are derived for all Guyanese.”
The Payara development was initially expected to be sanctioned last year but encountered government approval challenges for several months and was further delayed due to an elections crisis in the South American country that lasted for five months this year.
ExxonMobil and Hess officials had said that approval of the project this month was “very important” in ensuring that further delays are averted.
“It’s very important that we get this development plan so that we can FID in the September time frame. There are weather conditions that if you…miss a certain window, it could result in delay of some months, and that’s what we’re trying to work towards,” Neil Chapman, Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil Corporation told investors in July.
Norway-based Rystad Energy has said the delays have already removed more than 50 million barrels of production that could have been achieved by 2030 if the project had been sanctioned in 2019, while Wood Mackenzie has said the delays could erode up to US$2.2 billion of overall project value and Guyana’s share value could decrease by an estimated US$4.5 billion.
The Payara Development will utilize onshore infrastructure which includes shorebases, warehouses, storage and pipe yards, fabrication facilities, fuel supply facilities, and waste management facilities in Guyana.
