Guyana’s ascent on the global oil scene has been nothing short of spectacular, as described by S&P Global Analyst Patrick Harrington during a podcast on August 3.
In a few short years, the South American country continues to make waves due to oil deposits located in its offshore Stabroek Block, operated by oil major, ExxonMobil. To date, 11 billion barrels of recoverable resources have been discovered.
“It is a country where, in 2019, there were roughly zero barrels per day being produced. All of a sudden, it is up to 400,000 barrels per day, and the projection is that by 2027, [they are] going to be at 1.2 million barrels per day of production. So, it has really kind of exploded onto the oil scene,” he shared.
And Exxon does not plan to stop there.
The company recently got approval to conduct a 35-well exploration campaign in a bid to unlock even more resources in the 6.6 million-acre Block.
While that is underway, Exxon is actively upping production at its two projects – Liza 1 and Liza 2 and bringing more projects online; the third – Payara is expected soon pushing the daily output to 600,000 barrels a day.
Guyana’s Stabroek Block has also proven to be a game-changer in the global energy landscape, propelling the South American nation to the forefront of discovered volumes. A recent Rystad Energy report outlined that Guyana surpassed all other contenders, recording an impressive 603 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) so far, in 2023.
The success of the Stabroek Block has caused the nation to significantly outpace competitors. Turkey takes second place with 380 million boe, followed by Nigeria with 296 million boe and Namibia with 287 million boe.
Guyana has had only three discoveries so far this year. Exxon struck oil at Fangtooth SE-1 and Lancetfish-1 in the Stabroek Block. The Fangtooth SE-1 well encountered approximately 200 feet of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir while the Lancetfish-1 well encountered approximately 92 feet of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. It was drilled in 5,843 feet of water by the Noble Don Taylor and is located approximately 4 miles southeast of the Fangtooth-1 discovery. The Fangtooth area has been identified as Guyana’s seventh Stabroek Block development.
The third discovery was at the Corentyne Block. CGX Energy hit crude at the Wei-1 well, which delivered net pay of 77 feet in the Maastrichtian and Campanian intervals. 210 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing sands were determined to exist in the Santonian intervals, but an additional 2-3 months of studies are needed to confirm net pay in the Santonian.
