Guyana’s oil production on an uptick

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Tues. Jan. 7, 2020, Stabroek News: Two weeks after the historic first draw of crude oil in the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana, production stood at approximately 500,000 barrels.

US oil major ExxonMobil on December 20th, 2019, announced that oil production had started from the Liza field, offshore Guyana, ahead of schedule and less than five years after the first find of hydrocarbons. It had said that this was well ahead of the industry average for deep-water developments.

Production from the first phase of the Liza field is expected to reach full capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil per day in the coming months, and the first cargo is set to be sold within weeks.

ExxonMobil’s Public and Government Affairs Advisor Janelle Persaud on Friday said that production continues, with an average of between 35,000 and 50,000 barrels of oil being produced per day. As production continues, this number is expected to grow.

The Liza Phase 1 development project features the Liza Destiny Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel moored 190 kilometres offshore Guyana, and four subsea drill centres supporting 17 wells.

A second FPSO, Liza Unity, with the capacity to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day is under construction to support the Liza Phase 2 development, and front-end engineering design is underway for a potential third FPSO, the Prosperity, to work the Payara field upon government and regulatory approvals.

ExxonMobil has said that by 2025, at least five FPSOs will be producing more than 750,000 barrels per day from the Stabroek Block.

The current estimated discovered recoverable resource from the Stabroek Block is more than 6 billion oil equivalent barrels. Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45% interest. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30% interest and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.