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Poor Christmas weather could delay First Oil – ExxonMobil officials
Could poor weather push back plans for First oil by Christmas?
Top officials at Hess Corporation, which has a 30 percent interest in the Stabroek Block, confirmed last week that First Oil is now due by December. But ExxonMobil, which is the operator of the Stabroek Block, says that the success of meeting this new timeline is dependent on favourable weather.
Specifically expressing this note of caution was Neil Hansen, ExxonMobil’s Vice President and Secretary. During the firm’s third quarter earnings call on Friday last, Hansen said that the target now for achieving First Oil is December, but it is “dependent on favourable weather conditions.”
ExxonMobil’s Public and Government Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud had also told Kaieteur News during recent communication that the company is in the hookup and commissioning phase for the Liza Destiny Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. Persaud, in an invited comment, said that the coming weeks will be a critical period where progress can be impacted by several factors including weather.
The ExxonMobil Advisor said, “However, we continue to progress our schedule safely and in a manner that is protective of the environment.”
Like Persaud, Hansen said during the earnings call that the project is progressing smoothly while noting that development works have placed start-up within five years of initial discovery, well ahead of the typical pace for the industry of closer to nine years.
With respect to the Liza Phase Two preparations, Hansen disclosed that engineering and construction are progressing well, following the final investment decision that was made earlier this year. He said, too, that ExxonMobil is working with the government to receive necessary project approvals for Payara, the third oil field project on the Stabroek Block. It has a planned start-up for 2023.
Reminding of the Tripletail discovery, which was announced in September, Hansen told analysts who participated in the earnings call that it marked the fourth exploration success of 2019 for ExxonMobil. The Vice President of Investor Relations said that the well encountered 108 feet of high quality oil-bearing sandstone. He said that the company is pleased to highlight that with deeper drilling on the well, additional hydrocarbon reservoirs were encountered, providing potential upside to the initial discovery data.
Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, is the actual operator of Stabroek Block and holds 45% interest. The remaining interests in the block are held by Hess Guyana Exploration (30%) and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana (25%).
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