Hess Corporation reported on Wednesday morning that it held a net income of US$417 million, or US$1.34 per share, in the first quarter of 2022, compared with net income of US$252 million, or US$0.82 per share, in the first quarter of 2021.
On an adjusted basis, the American conglomerate reported net income of US$404 million, or US$1.30 per share, in the first quarter of 2022. The company which holds a 30 percent interest in the Stabroek Block, said the improvement in adjusted after-tax earnings compared with the prior-year period was primarily due to higher realised selling prices in the first quarter of 2022, partially offset by lower sales volumes.
With respect to operational highlights at the Stabroek Block, Hess’ net production totaled 30,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in the first quarter of 2022 compared with 31,000 bopd in the prior-year quarter. In February, it told shareholders that production commenced from the Liza Unity floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) and contributed 7,000 net bopd in the first quarter of 2022.
Hess disclosed as well that the Liza Destiny FPSO recently completed production optimisation work initiated in March that expanded its production capacity to more than 140,000 gross bopd from 120,000 gross bopd previously. It is currently producing 130,000 gross bopd and is expected to reach its full capacity in the second quarter.
With respect to the Liza Unity FPSO, Hess said it is expected to reach its production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross bopd by the third quarter.
Also in the first quarter, Hess said it sold approximately 2.3 million barrels of oil from Guyana and expects to have 7 one-million-barrel liftings in the second quarter and 8 one-million barrel liftings in both the third and fourth quarters.
Turning its attention to the third development, Payara, it reminded that this project will utilise the Prosperity FPSO with an expected capacity of 220,000 gross bopd, with first production now expected in late 2023.
It also noted that approval was received for the US$10B Yellowtail development and efforts are continuing towards keeping it on track for 2025 start up.
Hess says Yellowtail is one of the world’s best projects | OilNow
Additionally, Hess reminded that three new discoveries on the Stabroek Block were announced yesterday at Barreleye, Lukanani and Patwa.
The Barreleye-1 well encountered approximately 230 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs of which approximately 52 feet is high quality oil-bearing. The well was drilled in 3,840 feet of water and is located approximately 20 miles southeast of the Liza Field.
The Lukanani-1 well encountered 115 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs of which approximately 76 feet is high quality oil-bearing. The well was drilled in water depth of 4,068 feet and is located in the southeastern part of the block, approximately 2 miles west of the Pluma discovery.
The Patwa-1 well encountered 108 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs. The well was drilled in 6,315 feet of water and is located approximately 3 miles northwest of the Cataback-1 discovery.
