Director of Guyana’s Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, today announced that ExxonMobil has made its 16th oil discovery offshore Guyana. The new discovery was made northeast of the producing Liza field at the Uaru well, on the Stabroek Block.
This new discovery coupled with all other discoveries brings the estimated resource for the Stabroek Block to more than eight billion oil-equivalent barrels.
“The Co-operative Republic of Guyana welcomes this new discovery, which follows closely on the heels of the start of oil production on December 20, 2019. All Guyanese should welcome this new discovery and should begin to appreciate that the nation is on the cusp of major economic transformation and sustained development. The Department of Energy remains committed to working with its partners and ecosystem of agencies, to ensure that the benefits from the sector, both direct and indirect, redound to every Guyanese,” Dr. Bynoe said.
The Uaru well encountered approximately 94 feet (29 metres) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. The well, drilled in 6,342 feet (1,933 metres) of water, is located approximately 10 miles (16 kilometres) northeast of the Liza field, which started oil production in December 2019.
“The petroleum sector is already stimulating increased employment and expanded services, and we are expecting a ramping up of these benefits during the Decade of Development (2020-2029) which is aimed at ensuring that the country’s petroleum resources are utilised to improve citizens’ quality of life and retaining greater value from the sector for Guyana and Guyanese,” Dr. Bynoe said.
Additionally, by the second quarter of 2020 production from the Liza Phase 1 development will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil daily utilizing the floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), Liza Destiny. Under the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) governing the Stabroek Block, the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana will be receiving at a minimum, 2 per cent royalty on all oil produced in the Block plus 12.5 per cent profit oil. As the capital and operating costs are liquidated, Guyana’s share of profit oil will increase.
“With recent high-quality finds at Tripletail and Mako contributing to our recoverable resources, our investments will continue to provide benefits for the people of Guyana,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil. “The Uaru discovery is another positive step as we begin a new decade with the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and our co-venturers.”
The Liza Unity FPSO, which will be employed for the second phase of Liza development and will have a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day, is under construction and expected to start production by mid-2022.
