ExxonMobil to examine 4th project for ways to increase production- Routledge

Oct 18, 2025 News

(Kaieteur News) – President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), Alistair Routledge has revealed that the company’s fourth offshore development, the Yellowtail project, is likely to follow the pattern of its three other Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs) where oil is being produced beyond nameplate capacity.

ExxonMobil to examine 4th project for ways to increase production- Routledge

ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge

Each vessel has a specific design rate, known as the safe operating limit that is outlined in environmental studies and other project documents. With blessings from the Government of Guyana (GoG), Exxon has increased production beyond those specific rates through a process known as ‘debottlenecking’. This technical process involves assessing the projects for ways to increase production.

To date, Exxon has ramped up production on all three of the FPSOs approved prior to the ‘One Guyana’ vessel.

According to the EMGL President, the company’s attention at the moment is on achieving safe plateau of the FPSO after which it will reassess its design for ways to push production beyond the vessel’s nameplate capacity.

The One Guyana FPSO was designed to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). Routledge however noted, “As with all the facilities, once it’s up and running at its full capacity as design, we’ll look at it and see what’s the first of all, is the safe way to debottleneck, but then secondly is it an economic proposition to further debottleneck that facility, to improve the early rates of production.”

He added, “That work hasn’t started yet. We’re focused just now on having established the stable operation, moving forward into the ramp up to full plateaus, that initial design rate so that then we can see, is there anything else left by way of potential capacity.”

Payara, Exxon’s third project which commenced production on November 14, 2023, was designed to produce 220,000 (bpd) but Exxon has increased production to about 250,000 bpd.

Similarly, both Liza One and Liza Two are producing above the design capacity. The Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for the two projects indicate that the Liza One and Liza Two projects were designed to safely operate at 120,000 and 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), respectively.

Data on the Ministry of Natural Resources website for the month of September (most recent update shared) indicates that the projects are producing about 130,000 bpd and 250,000 bpd, respectively.

Stakeholders have often raised concern over the increased production activities being conducted by the operator, touting the increased risk of an oil spill as a result. Beyond the environmental concerns, Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram also pointed out previously that insurance companies will refuse to offer compensation in the event of a spill, since Guyana allowed Exxon to breach the safety limits.

Ram cautioned, “In petroleum production, there is a safety margin below the rated productive capacity of a well. Not only is there an increased risk that something can go wrong, but that when it does, the insurance companies will refuse to pay because you have breached the safety limit.”

Meanwhile, for its part, the government believes debottlenecking is safe, as technical officers attached to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as the Ministry of Natural Resources examine the plans of the operator.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo addressed the subject at press a conference in May 2024. He said that “Last week I dealt with that issue and I said that my briefing is that before they ramped up production beyond rated capacity, that this was cleared with the Ministry. The Ministry assured me their technical officers examined it, I spoke with the EPA, they said they had examined it carefully too so they are aware and it was done with their approval. Both agencies the Ministry of Natural Resources and the EPA and they believe it was done and it’s safe.”

To this end, Ram told Kaieteur News that he does not believe the former President understands the implications and consequences of breaching the safety limit of FPSOs. Read more here: https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/05/20/insurance-companies-will-refuse-to-compensate-guyana-for-oil-spill-damages-as-country-allowed-breach-of-safety-limits-chris-ram-warns/

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4th project, Alistair Routledge, ExxonMobi, FPSO, increase production, Yellowtail project

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