In just under six years, Guyana has transitioned from being a first-time oil producer to one that now produces 900,000 barrels of crude per day, driven by seven sanctioned offshore projects in the Stabroek Block and a flagship gas-to-energy development currently under construction.
This transformation began with ExxonMobil’s Liza discovery in 2015, one of the decade’s largest crude oil finds, after the Liza-1 well encountered over 90 meters of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone approximately 200 kilometers offshore.
Production started on December 20, 2019, when the Liza Destiny floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO) achieved its first oil from the Liza Phase 1 development. Destiny was initially designed for 120,000 barrels per day (b/d), but optimization has increased its capacity to about 150,000 b/d.
The second sanctioned project, Liza Phase 2, followed in February 2022. The Liza Unity FPSO, the world’s first unit to receive the ABS SUSTAIN-1 notation, was designed for a capacity of 220,000 b/d. By 2024, Unity had been optimized, with ExxonMobil reporting peak output of about 252,000 b/d.
Payara, Guyana’s third sanctioned development, was a new phase for the sector. Approved in 2020, it began production on November 14, 2023, via the Prosperity FPSO. Prosperity was designed to produce approximately 220,000 b/d. These three projects helped the Exxon-led consortium surpass 500 million barrels of cumulative output by late 2024.
Yellowtail, the fourth sanctioned development, has been a game-changer. Sanctioned in April 2022, with an estimated resource base of around 925 million barrels of oil equivalent and a planned capacity of 250,000 b/d, it utilizes the ONE GUYANA FPSO to develop the Yellowtail and Redtail fields. First oil was achieved on August 8, 2025, four months ahead of schedule.
In November 2025, ExxonMobil and its partners confirmed that daily production in the Stabroek Block had reached 900,000 barrels per day, a feat that solidified Guyana’s status as the world’s largest oil producer on a per-capita basis.
Guyana’s Uaru and Whiptail projects on track for 2026 to 2027 start-up – Routledge | OilNOW
Alongside these operational projects is a pipeline of sanctioned developments that will push capacity well beyond current levels. Uaru, the fifth project, received government and regulatory approval in April 2023, with ExxonMobil making a final investment decision shortly afterward. The US$12.7 billion development will use the Errea Wittu FPSO, built by MODEC. It is designed to add approximately 250,000 b/d from 2026, targeting over 800 million barrels of oil through up to 44 production and injection wells.
Whiptail, the sixth sanctioned project, gained government approval in April 2024. The US$12.7 billion plan is expected to start production in 2027 and add 250,000 b/d, bringing total Stabroek capacity to about 1.3 million b/d when the first six projects are operational. Whiptail will be developed with another large FPSO and 40 to 65 wells across the Whiptail, Pinktail and Tilapia areas.
The seventh sanctioned development, Hammerhead, was approved in September 2025. ExxonMobil announced a US$6.8 billion investment for the project after securing government approval, describing it as an example of “advancing an impressive seventh project just 10 years after the first discovery.” Hammerhead will use an FPSO capable of producing about 150,000 b/d starting in the second quarter of 2029, with 18 production and injection wells. Associated gas will be channeled into Guyana’s emerging gas-to-energy network, linking the crude export initiative directly to domestic power generation.
As these seven projects progress from concept to construction and production, the partners are planning even more. ExxonMobil and its co-venturers have applied for environmental approvals for Longtail, proposed as the eighth development, with a capacity of around 250,000 b/d of oil and about one billion cubic feet per day of gas, which would push total production capacity toward a goal of 1.7 million b/d by 2030.
The offshore expansion is becoming increasingly intertwined with Guyana’s domestic energy plans. A 250-kilometer pipeline from the Stabroek FPSOs is being installed to bring associated gas ashore at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara. The Gas-to-Energy project includes a 300 MW combined-cycle power plant, a natural gas liquids facility and new transmission lines and substations.
All together, the journey from Liza Phase 1 in 2019 to four producing FPSOs, three further sanctioned developments, and a significant gas-to-energy project has turned Guyana into one of the world’s fastest-growing oil provinces.
