Oil major ExxonMobil has so far sanctioned development of about 560,000 bpd of oil production capacity off the coast of Guyana. The commissioned capacity is expected to grow to more than 900,000 bpd in the next five years then topping the 1 million bpd milestone soon after, according to new analysis.
Norway-based consultancy group Rystad Energy says in the medium term, output will skyrocket as more fields come online.
“In the medium term, the Guyanese oil fields are expected to produce about 1.4 million bpd,” Rystad Energy said. “Suriname is expected to follow suit as operators TotalEnergies and Petronas sanction their respective discoveries – in our base case, we expect the current Surinamese finds to deliver more than 500,000 boepd at peak.”
Rystad Energy said it expects the current discoveries to drive future exploration as many blocks in the Guyana-Suriname basin are yet to be fully explored.
“The huge discoveries of the Stabroek block in Guyana and blocks 52 and 58 in Suriname have put the countries on the world oil map,” Rystad Energy said. “Together these blocks have over 10 billion boe of recoverable resources. Thanks to the high success rate, these discoveries have one of the world’s lowest finding costs.”
The second half of the past decade was dominated by Guyana in terms of discovered resources, while Suriname entered the game in 2020.
The Norway-based consultancy group said Exxon was quick to turn discovered barrels into sanctioned barrels with the Liza development in Guyana’s Stabroek block. Over the past three years, the operator further sanctioned the Liza Phase 2 and Payara projects.
‘These investments are only expected to grow, and so is the overall greenfield capex spent yearly in the region. Guyana will dominate for most of this decade, while Surinamese finds are set to get the green light over the next three to four years,” Rystad Energy stated.
