ExxonMobil’s Liza 1 development offshore Guyana is trending back toward its original nameplate capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d), as output gradually declines from the peak rates achieved after two optimization campaigns, according to production data reviewed by OilNOW.
The project, Guyana’s first oil development, began producing in December 2019 and was later debottlenecked twice, lifting its maximum observed production to about 160,000 b/d in 2024. Liza 1 averaged around 160,000 b/d over several months last year before easing to the 150,000-b/d range.
Through the first half of 2025, output averaged 140,000 b/d, before slipping to the 130,000 b/d range in the second half. In September and October, Liza 1 averaged 128,000 b/d, approaching the project’s original design capacity as it progresses through its natural decline curve.
The production trend is consistent with typical offshore developments, which rise to plateau levels before gradually tapering over many years. The Liza Phase 1 production license spans 20 years, with the project now nearly six years into that period.
Liza crude has an API gravity of 31.9 and sulfur content of 0.59%, according to a May 22, 2024, Exxon assay.
Exxon operates the Stabroek Block with a 45% stake. Co-venturers Hess, recently acquired by Chevron, has 30%, and China’s CNOOC holds 25%. All of Guyana’s current output, anchored by the Liza 1 and 2, Payara and Yellowtail projects, comes from the block.
