Guyana among hot spots for Exxon’s accelerated exploration – 2023 Financial Report

Feb 28, 2024 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

One of the drillships owned by Noble Corporation and used by Exxon for exploration activities in Guyana.

Kaieteur News – With more than 11 billion barrels of oil already discovered offshore Guyana by American oil giant ExxonMobil, the company last year accelerated its hunt for more resources.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) in its 2023 Financial Highlights on exploration and capital expenses said the company opportunistically ramped up its activities in its advantaged Guyana and Permian assets.

The company told its shareholders, “Capital and exploration expenditures were $7.8 billion in the fourth quarter, bringing full-year 2023 expenditures to $26.3 billion, slightly above the top end of the guidance range, as the company opportunistically accelerated activities in the advantaged Permian and Guyana assets, and entered a new lithium business.”

XOM did not disaggregate its spending on exploration and capital costs, but its Results Summary indicates that the energy giant’s expenditure in this regard grew by over US$3B when compared to 2022. According to the document, the company expended US$22.7 billion in exploration and capital costs in 2022, compared to US$26.3 billion last year.

ExxonMobil is the operator of Guyana’s lucrative Stabroek Block. The company holds a 45% interest, while Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

During a press conference hosted by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) at its Duke Street, Kingston, Georgetown office this month, Country Manager, Alistair Routledge was asked about the company’s exploration expenses relative to the Stabroek Block for 2023. Routledge informed journalists that the Annual Report will soon be issued with detailed information relative to the company’s local activities.

This year, Exxon will be pursuing a number of exploration and appraisal wells ahead of its scheduled relinquishment of a portion of the Block in October. The Country Manager during the press engagement noted, for example, that two wells, Redmouth and Trumpet fish, will be drilled in hopes of landing a find big enough to support a standalone project. “We plan to drill two exploration wells west of Liza and Payara. The Trumpetfish and Redmouth exploration wells are planned more in the middle of the Stabroek Block during the course of this year,” the official said.

Apart from those two, Routledge said Exxon has five exploration and appraisal wells planned for the Stabroek Block this year which fall under its 35-well campaign that was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since some of these five wells will test for gas, Routledge said it will be instrumental in helping the company to really understand the resource therein. “We think we have discovered a certain amount of (gas) resource, but you know how will it perform dynamically? Can we infill with some additional discoveries we are drilling like the Bluefin exploration well currently so that is the focus now,” explained Routledge.

In 2023, ExxonMobil Guyana announced two new discoveries, increasing the total discoveries for the prolific Stabroek Block to 40. Notably, the company has not updated the country’s resource base since April, 2022. It said it is more concerned with developing and monetizing those resources already discovered which totals 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

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