HOUSTON, TEXAS — ExxonMobil Guyana is evaluating discoveries in offshore waters approaching 3,000 meters deep as the company moves beyond the large oil projects that drove the first phase of development in the Stabroek Block.
ExxonMobil Guyana Development Manager Kyle Countryman discussed the deeper-water prospects during a panel session at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.
“It’s discoveries in ultra-deepwater getting close to 3,000 meters,” Countryman said.
He explained that ExxonMobil’s earlier developments offshore Guyana focused first on larger black oil discoveries that could support standalone production projects.
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“If you look, we always do the easy stuff first. [But]I’m not saying any of these deepwater developments were easy,” he explained.
Countryman said the next phase of development is becoming more technically demanding as operators evaluate deeper reservoirs and smaller accumulations that may need to be linked back to existing infrastructure.
“It’s tied back opportunities that are smaller, that aren’t standalone opportunities,” he noted.
Tieback developments allow smaller discoveries to be connected to existing production facilities instead of requiring separate floating production vessels. According to Countryman, ExxonMobil and its co-venturers Hess and CNOOC are studying different pathways for developing those resources.
“We have a lot of discovered, undeveloped resources that we’re looking at ways to unlock,” he said.
He added that discussions are ongoing with the Guyana government as the partnership advances plans for future developments in the basin.
Guyana currently has four producing floating production, storage and offloading vessels in the Stabroek Block, with additional developments approved by the government.
