As the global oil and gas industry continues to recover from the impact of the pandemic, ExxonMobil has reported that its production volumes are rising from 2020 levels, and for the first quarter of this year, output at the Liza Phase 1 Development in Guyana increased by 70 percent when compared to the same period last year.
This was disclosed on April 30, when the U.S. oil major held is first quarter earnings call. Vice President of Investor Relations, Steven Littleton reported that upstream volumes increased by an average of approximately 100,000 oil equivalent barrels per day compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
“Guyana production increased by approximately 70 percent or 19,000 barrels per day over the same period,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods said the company’s portfolio of opportunities in Guyana is the best they have seen in 20 years. ExxonMobil has made 18 discoveries in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana so far, and the discovered resources have been estimated to be in the vicinity of nine billion barrels of oil. The company also announced an additional discovery this week at the Uaru-2 well where drilling encountered approximately 120 feet (36.7 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing reservoirs including newly identified intervals below the original Uaru-1 discovery.
“Ninety percent of our upstream investments and resource additions over the next five years, including Guyana, Brazil and the Permian, generate 10 percent returns at $35 a barrel or less,” he stated.
He updated stakeholders on the Guyana operations, telling them that progress on Liza Phase Two and Payara are on schedule, while the planning phase for the fourth development at Yellowtail is underway.
The investors heard that while the discovered resource base of the Stabroek Block is currently pegged at about nine billion oil equivalent barrels, that number is expected to grow. This optimism has been further strengthened by the positive results of the Uaru-2 appraisal well. Woods emphasized that Uaru-2 confirmed a deeper play that suggests additional opportunity and resources that they have not fully quantified as yet.
“So, I think it’s a very rich set of opportunities that we’re going to continue to progress and I wouldn’t look for a big bank per se, I would look for a continued and steady progression of bringing those opportunities to market,” he continued. According to the Chairman, the company plans to continue working closely with the government and the people of Guyana to “continue to progress that resource and really bring a lot of economic opportunity to the country and the people of Guyana.”
With the potential for ten Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units and six field developments by 2027, Woods said, “We feel really good about what we’re finding in Guyana and a very constructive engagement with the government in terms of those developments.”
