Govt. approves 6th oil project for Exxon at US$12.7B

Apr 13, 2024 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

ExxonMobil Guyana Limited Country Manager, Alistair Routledge

Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) has received a green light from the Government of Guyana (GoG) to pursue a sixth oil project in the Stabroek Block, the Whiptail development.

This was officially announced by the oil giant on Friday morning in a statement to the press.

Kaieteur News understands that the $12.7 billion Whiptail development will target an estimated resource base of more than 850 million barrels of oil and include up to 10 drill centers and 48 production and injection wells. The floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for Whiptail, which will be called Jaguar, is already under construction.

ExxonMobil also announced its Final Investment Decision (FID) for the project that is expected to produce approximately 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2027.

Liam Mallon, President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company said, “Our sixth multi-billion-dollar project in Guyana will bring the country’s production capacity to approximately 1.3 million barrels per day.”

He noted that the company’s unrivaled success in developing the Guyana resource at industry-leading pace, cost and environmental performance is built on close collaboration with the government of Guyana, as well as its partners, suppliers, and contractors.

Mallon further pointed out, “We are committed to helping spread the benefits throughout the country by investing in local Guyanese communities and projects to support the country’s phased and sustainable development.”

Currently, three FPSOs – the Liza Destiny, Liza Unity and Prosperity – are operating offshore Guyana and are producing more than 640,000 barrels of oil per day. Construction is underway on FPSOs for the Yellowtail and Uaru projects, with Yellowtail anticipated to start production in 2025 and Uaru targeted in 2026.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hess Corporation, John Hess in a separate statement said, “We are excited to sanction Whiptail, our sixth oil development on the Stabroek Block, and remain on track to have six FPSOs online by the end of 2027 with a total gross production capacity of approximately 1.3 million barrels of oil per day.”

Furthermore, Hess noted, “We are proud to work with the Government of Guyana to realize the remarkable potential of this world class resource for the benefit of all stakeholders. The world will need these vital oil resources to meet future energy demand and help ensure an affordable, just and secure energy transition.”

There are currently 6,200 Guyanese working in support of Stabroek block operations—which is 70% of the workforce. The cumulative spend of ExxonMobil Guyana and its contractors with Guyanese suppliers since 2015 surpassed $1.5 billion at the end of 2023.

Exxon said production from the six Stabroek block developments will generate tens of billions of dollars of revenue and significant economic development for Guyana. Since first production in 2019, more than $4.2 billion has been paid into the Guyana Natural Resource Fund.

Following Exxon’s announcement, the Ministry of Natural Resources said the GoG was pleased to announce the granting of a Petroleum Production Licence to ExxonMobil for its sixth offshore development. It said billions in revenue will be generated from the Whiptail project that will support significant economic and social upliftment for the country and its citizens.

ExxonMobil affiliate, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45% interest in the Stabroek block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.

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approved, Jaguar, oil, project, Sixth, Whiptail

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