John Hess, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hess Corp. announced to investors that the front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for ExxonMobil’s fifth development in the Stabroek Block is already underway.
“As for our fifth development at Uaru-Mako, the operator [ExxonMobil] anticipates submitting the plan of development to the Government of Guyana in the fourth quarter, with first oil targeted for 2026 pending government approvals and project sanctioning,” he said at the company’s Q2 earnings call.
The FEED design approach is one used to control project expenses and thoroughly plan a project before a fixed bid quote is submitted. It may also be referred to as pre-project planning (PPP), front-end loading (FEL), feasibility analysis, or early project planning.
Uaru-1 was ExxonMobil’s 16th discovery in the Stabroek Block, made in 2020, northeast of the Liza field. In 2021, the company made another discovery at Uaru-2, with newly identified intervals below the original Uaru-1 discovery. Mako-1 was discovered in 2019, southeast of the Liza field.
The Uaru project’s floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel will not be too far off from the Yellowtail Development Project’s floater in terms of size. The project, slated to come online in 2026, is likely to be targeting a higher production, however, at up to 275,000 barrels per day, and would take production offshore Guyana over one million barrels of oil per day.
Ahead of environmental authorisation, Exxon is taking steps to ensure that issues with flaring do not occur there. Its in-country Projects Manager, Anthony Jackson had said that the company will ensure spares are installed for the compression system aboard the development’s vessel to reduce non-routine flaring.
Jackson had also said that Exxon will also be developing a “flare minimisation plan” for Uaru.
