ExxonMobil Guyana is actively seeking environmental authorisation for its sixth Stabroek Block development – Whiptail. It recently submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the mandated 3,000+ page Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for review and approval. Here are some basic facts about the development you should know.
- The Whiptail development will be located 195 kilometers northeast of Guyana’s capital Georgetown.
- It is estimated to cost close to US$13 billion – Exxon’s largest ever.
- The development will tap into three massive fields: Whiptail, Pinktail and Tilapia.
- 72 wells are expected to be drilled. These include production, water and gas injection wells.
- The project also entails installing and operating subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines.
- Production levels at Whiptail are expected to be 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) using a floating, production, storage and offloading vessel.
- The FPSO will be used to produce the crude, with two million barrels of oil storage capacity. The project will offload crude to a tanker, every three to six days during peak production.
- The project’s gas production capacity will be between 400 million and 640 million standard cubic feet per day.
- Whiptail is expected to employ up to a peak of 540 people during the drilling and installation stage and from 100 to 180 people during the production operations stage.
- The FPSO and SURF fabrication and installation will begin in early 2026 following the completion of engineering and will take approximately two years. Development well drilling may also occur during this period.
- Production operations are expected to begin in late 2027 or 2028 and will continue for at least 20 years.
