Guyana’s Stabroek Block now has 51 discoveries filed with the Ministry of Natural Resources. ExxonMobil confirmed the figure in a release on Sunday, stating, “We have announced more than 30 significant discoveries in the Stabroek Block, while filing 51 Notices of Discovery with the Ministry.”
‘Significant discoveries’ are those that materially impact resource estimates or development plans.
The story began in 2015 with Liza-1, the well that changed Guyana’s offshore profile. Liza was the biggest, best prospect in a basin with zero discoveries. It kicked into gear the development of what is now known as one of the world’s prolific deepwater assets, the Stabroek Block. The success of Liza set the foundation for every project that followed.
Liza supports the Liza Phase 1 and Liza Phase 2 developments. These are operated through the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, both producing at steady rates. Payara is another key find and anchors the Prosperity FPSO, which moved to full capacity soon after start-up.
The Yellowtail development is supported by several discoveries, including Yellowtail, Yellowtail-2 and Redtail. The project uses the ONE GUYANA FPSO, one of the largest units in the basin. Production began smoothly and lifted overall output to 900,000 barrels per day.
The Uaru development will use the Errea Wittu FPSO. It is followed by Whiptail. That project is advancing with plans for the Jaguar FPSO.
Beyond these anchors, ExxonMobil has publicly announced several other discoveries it considers commercially viable. These include Snoek, Liza Deep, Turbot, Ranger, Pacora, Longtail, Hammerhead, Pluma, Tilapia, Haimara, Tripletail, Mako, Yellowtail-2, Redtail, Longtail-3, Pinktail, Turbot-2, Cataback, Lau Lau, Fangtooth, Barreleye, Patwa, Lukanani, Seabob, Kiru-Kiru, Sailfin and Yarrow. Together, they expand the pool of prospects that could support future projects.
The Stabroek Block’s estimated resource base is now 11.6 billion barrels of recoverable resources. From a single frontier well to 51 discoveries, the Block continues to evolve into one of the most active deepwater areas in the world.
