China’s offshore oil giant CNOOC offshore assets in South America, led by the Stabroek Block in Guyana and Brazilian Libra and Buzlos Surplus projects, have been identified as important sources of future reserve and production growth for the company, according to a recent report from S&P Global Platts.
CNOOC holds a 25% interest in the Stabroek Block where recoverable resources are now estimated at nearly 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), with total production expected to reach 800,000 boe/d in 2025.
In February, oil production started at Liza Phase 2, Guyana’s second offshore oil development on the Stabroek Block, bringing total production capacity to more than 340,000 barrels per day in only seven years since the country’s first discovery.
First oil cargo from Liza Phase 2 arrives in US
“The launch helped [CNOOC’s] oil and gas production from South America to rise 28.8% on the year to reach 9.4 million boe or 104,444 boe/d in Q1,” S&P Global Platts said.
Production at the Liza Unity floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is expected to reach its target of 220,000 barrels of oil later this year, as operations continue to be brought safely online. It adds to the more than 120,000 barrels per day of capacity at the Liza Destiny FPSO, which began production in December 2019 and is now delivering at better than design capacity.
The SBM Offshore built and operated Liza Unity FPSO arrived in Guyana in October 2021. It is moored in water depth of about 1,650 meters and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude.
