Guyana’s oil reserves is at least double the official numbers

Guyana’s oil reserves is at least double the official numbers – S&P Global

Aug 07, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – With an estimate of over 11 billion barrels of oil in the prolific Stabroek Block, S&P Global Commodity Insights’ oil pricing and news expert Patrick Harrington said that he believes that the Guyana’s oil reserves “are much bigger than that.”

Harrington made the comment during a recent podcast by S&P Global titled, “Guyanese Dream: Oil boom in Guyana could transform global crude market.” S&P Global provides essential intelligence by enabling governments, businesses and individuals with the right data, expertise and connected technology so that they can make decisions with conviction.

American oil giant, ExxonMobil Corporation subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is the operator of the lucrative Stabroek Block.

For the Stabroek Block development, Guyana is chained to an exploitative deal that gives it a paltry 2% royalty and a 50% share of the profit oil after costs are recovered up to a ceiling of 75%. The Stabroek Block, in which ExxonMobil maintains a 45% operating stake, is supported by co-venturers Hess and CNOOC, holding stakes of 30% and 25%, respectively.

During the podcast, Harrington said, “And if you talk about oil reserves, I think Starr (Spencer) was talking about proven reserves of 11 billion barrels in Guyana. A lot of people have told me, you know when I was down there (in Guyana), that’s just a very lowball estimate.”

He continued by stating that while there is an official estimate as it relates to the quantity of oil that is offshore Guyana, Harrington said, “it’s at least double that.”

In making his case, Harrington highlighted that Guyana is next door to Venezuela, a country which has the biggest oil reserves in the world.

“Venezuela has the biggest oil reserves in the world, proven reserves of over 300 billion barrels. So it’s just kind of an unscientific estimate, but it’s easy to imagine that Guyana’s reserves are much bigger than the official numbers,” he added.

Oil Price reported that while Venezuela is one of the most troubled countries in the world, Venezuela is also the country with the world’s largest oil reserves, pegged at over 300 billion barrels.

After a period of flourishing in the nineties and early 2000s, the first oil price slump of the new millennium crippled the Venezuelan economy. Before it had a chance to recover, the United States slammed it with sanctions that have decimated output: in 2022, the average was 600,000 to 700,000 barrel per day (bpd), while exports averaged a little over 600,000 bpd.

Moreover, Exxon and its partners currently have five sanctioned projects in the Stabroek Block which are worth over US$40B. The most recent project that was approved was for the Uaru Project. It will have a production capacity of approximately 250,000 gross barrels of oil per day with production targeted to startup in 2026. Recently, this publication reported, that Communications Advisor for ExxonMobil Guyana, Keisha Gilkes in a documentary, asked Exxon’s Global Country Communications Manager, Kimberly Brasington about the role Guyana will play not only in the future of the industry but with ExxonMobil when she disclosed, “Guyana is the future for ExxonMobil.” Brasington continued that the Guyana operations have been driving the company’s growth while at the same time developing the country, as she lauded the partnership.

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co-venturers Hess and CNOOC, Oil Price reported, S&P Global, Stabroek Block

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