ExxonMobil Guyana Limited has proposed a new exploration and appraisal drilling campaign that could see up to 35 wells drilled in the Stabroek Block between 2028 and 2033.
The Guyana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on June 14 that it has opened a 28-day public consultation period on the proposed campaign, inviting written submissions on issues that should be addressed in a cumulative impact assessment of the project.
According to the EPA, the proposed activities will include exploration and appraisal drilling operations and may involve ancillary activities such as vertical seismic profiling (VSP), well testing, sidetracking, and the plugging and abandonment of wells upon completion of operations.
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The campaign is planned for the Stabroek Block, approximately 200 kilometers offshore Guyana, where ExxonMobil and its partners Hess and CNOOC have already discovered more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources.
The regulator said it determined that the project, on its own, is not expected to significantly affect the environment and therefore does not require a standalone Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
In its notice, the EPA said impacts associated with the project are expected to be temporary, localized and reversible. It noted that drilling activities would be confined to the Stabroek Block and that environmental effects identified across assessed receptors are expected to diminish once operations conclude at each well location.
The agency further stated that the significance of potential impacts would be reduced to low levels through the implementation of established mitigation measures.
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However, the EPA said the project must be evaluated in the context of other ongoing and planned offshore activities in the Stabroek Block.
While the proposed campaign itself is not considered likely to cause significant environmental effects, the agency determined that cumulative impacts arising from the project in combination with similar developments could be significant. As a result, ExxonMobil will be required to undertake a cumulative impact assessment examining the combined effects of the proposed drilling campaign alongside other offshore activities.
The public consultation process is intended to help define the scope of that assessment.
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ExxonMobil’s application covers a campaign expected to begin in the second quarter of 2028 and continue through the fourth quarter of 2033.
Project documents submitted to the EPA indicate that the company could use any of the five drillships currently operating offshore Guyana, although the final rig selection has not been determined.
The filing also notes that discoveries made during the campaign could lead to additional appraisal activity to determine commercial viability, with drilling priorities and schedules subject to change as new data become available.
The proposed campaign would follow several years of intensive offshore development activity by ExxonMobil in Guyana, including the Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara, Yellowtail, Uaru, Whiptail and Hammerhead projects, all of which are at various stages of drilling, installation or production.
