Latest update April 28th, 2026 12:30 AM
Exxon yet to make final investment decision
- awaits review of applications
ExxonMobil’s Country Manager, Jeff Simons
ExxonMobil is yet to make its Final Investment Decision (FID) for commercial oil production as the US Company awaits the review of its applications by local regulatory bodies.
This was according to the Company’s Country Manager Jeff Simons, during a media engagement at ExxonMobil’s office, Georgetown yesterday.
Simons said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still reviewing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that was submitted to the regulatory body sometime earlier this year.
In keeping with the Environmental Protection Act, an EIA is required for the company’s offshore large-scale development of petroleum production facilities before any decision to approve or reject the proposed project is taken, since this development may have significant impacts on the environment.
The EPA, based on what Simons has learnt, is in the process of analysing public comments.
He noted that this passing of the assessment is critical since it will aid the company and its partners to make further investments.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), is also reviewing Exxon’s production plan for the Liza Phase One development, and their application for a production license. Exxon is currently in possession of a licence which allows them to only explore.
The production licence will give the company and its partners the power to extract.
According to Simons, the Commission has sought assistance from other entities and Exxon is working along with the GGMC and its aide in providing the necessary clarifications and information needed.
He could not commit to when the green light would be given, but noted that the wait was anticipated.
Despite these applications being reviewed, Exxon is seemingly confident that all will go through as planned.
The company and its partners have already spent in the vicinity of US$1B to carry out its operation thus far, the Country Manager said.
Contracts have already been awarded for the supply of vital elements to aid the company through this exploratory stage and beyond.
Back in May 2015, ExxonMobil announced a huge oil find in the Liza-1 well and encountered more than 295 feet (90 metres) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone.
With the second well on the block, Liza-2, the company confirmed the finding as “significant,” with a potential recoverable resource of 800 million to 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Drilling operations on ExxonMobil’s Skipjack prospect, the company’s third well in the block offshore Guyana, yielded disappointing results. It was reported that the company did not find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons within that well.
The Liza-3 appraisal well was subsequently drilled to a total depth of 18,100 feet in 6000 feet of water on a location about 2.7 miles from the Liza-1 discovery. The well hit around 200 feet of net pay “in the same high-quality reservoirs” as the first two Liza wells which would further solidify the potential recoverable oil in the reservoir.
The Payara-1 well – the fifth well – located approximately 10 miles (16 kilometres) northwest of the Liza-1 discovery, was drilled by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), and encountered more than 95 feet (29 metres) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs. The well was safely drilled to a depth of 18,080 feet (5,512 meters) in 6,660 feet (2,030 meters) of water.
The Snoek-1, was recently drilled where more than 82 feet of high-quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs were encountered.
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