ExxonMobil’s cost estimate for the Whiptail development, recently approved by the Guyana government, has been slashed by approximately US$200 million. The project is targeting production of 850 million barrels of oil at 250,000 barrels per day (b/d).
At the stage of submission of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project in the second half of 2023, the document had indicated an estimated cost of US$12.933 billion. However, at project sanction, ExxonMobil Guyana said the project estimated cost was slashed to US$12.7 billion.
| Development | Estimated Cost (USD) | Production (b/d) |
| Liza 1 | 3.5 billion | 160,000 |
| Liza 2 | 6.0 billion | 250,000 |
| Payara | 9.0 billion | 230,000 |
| Yellowtail | 10.0 billion | 250,000 |
| Uaru | 12.7 billion | 250,000 |
| Whiptail | 12.7 billion | 250,000 |
| TOTAL | 53.9 billion | 1,390,000 |
Exxon had also slashed development expense estimates for the Liza project, from an early US$4.4 billion to an eventual US$3.5 billion. The oil major, along with Stabroek Block partners Hess and CNOOC, had therefore saved approximately US$700 million on the first oil project’s development.
The Exxon-led consortium has now committed almost US$54 billion in development costs alone to six projects in the Stabroek Block, aiming to produce more than 1.2 million b/d once Whiptail ramps up to its target production of 250,000 b/d. While current numbers show combined production offshore Guyana could produce almost 1.4 million b/d by 2027/2028, ExxonMobil intends to pursue production optimization which could take output closer to 1.5 million b/d.
The Stabroek Block partners are also considering a seventh project.
