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Chevron hints Stabroek Block holds more than 11 billion barrels
– signals room for more exploration, eager to help
(Kaieteur News) – Chevron on Wednesday suggested that Guyana’s Stabroek Block, already estimated to hold 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil, could contain even more than current projections. “When you think about 11 billion barrels, big fields getting bigger… I would expect upside,” Chevron Vice Chairman Mark Nelson said during the company’s investor day in New York.
Chevron Vice Chairman Mark Nelson
Chevron gained a 30% stake in the block earlier this year following its acquisition of Hess, after a lengthy legal battle with ExxonMobil, which operates the block with 45% interest. Chinese firm CNOOC holds the remaining 25%. According to a Reuters article, Chevron’s investor day event provided financial guidance through 2030 incorporating Hess, and included a presentation slide showing production capacity growth over time in Guyana.
Nelson said there was room for more exploration in Guyana and that Chevron was eager to help.
“There’s some deeper reservoirs to test, and we look forward to working with the partner to do that,” he said. In September, during a Barclays conference, Exxon Senior Vice President Jack Williams said 11 billion barrels was the “best number” the company had for an estimate of the resource, while more exploration would continue. Separately, Exxon said on Wednesday that daily oil production at Stabroek had reached 900,000 barrels a day. The company eventually expects to have total output of 1.7 million bpd from eight developments in the country. “Everything that we have shared today reflects the operator’s view,” Chevron’s Nelson said, referring to Exxon. “That’s what a good partner would do.”
The issue of Guyana’s oil reserves has been a source of contention and former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan believes the Stabroek Block oil reserves is far more oil than the 11.6 billion barrels both ExxonMobil and Guyana Government have announced. The former minister said that even at the current pace of extraction by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), he believes there is enough oil to last another 30 to 40 years. The question of Guyana’s true reserves gained attention in 2024. That August, the Ministry of Natural Resources announced that reserves grew by 600 million barrels to 11.6 billion, following eight new discoveries since the last update in April 2022. But Exxon disputed the government’s figure, providing its own lower estimate of below 11 billion barrels.
“I believe quite honestly that we are being fooled and we are doing nothing about it, about how much oil has really been discovered,” Jordan said, citing the last eight new discoveries made by the oil company. He argued that there has been a blackout on information about the true estimate of Guyana’s oil finds. “All those 11.6 billion barrels that they are telling us I believe it is double or triple that. So, we got oil that could last us 40 years or 50 years even at the present extraction,” Jordan noted.
Jordan further estimated that at a conservative US$60 per barrel, Guyana stands to earn massive revenues. “That’s huge money coming to a small country in terms of population, 10 years’ time with good investment and all these things, all of us here could be not super rich but we should have a decent standard living,” he added.
Oil was discovered offshore Guyana in 2015 and by December 2019, production commenced. Exxon has already received government approval for six developments in the Stabroek Block. The first four are in operation, producing an average of 650,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) with an installed capacity of 900,000 bpd. The company’s country manager, Alistair Routledge at a press conference last year said the Stabroek Block reserves are less than 11 billion barrels. Routledge was asked how many of the eight discoveries were appraised for the company to arrive at the new resource estimate of 11.6 billion barrels. He explained, “The government released a number of 11.6 billion oil equivalent barrels, ExxonMobil’s estimate is lower than that number…our number remains a little under 11 billion oil equivalent barrels.” Furthermore, he noted that the company is obligated to make such reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, making the point that Exxon was not keeping the figures away.
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