Even as it awaits final approval for Payara, its third oil well development, ExxonMobil is pressing ahead with its fourth oil well project offshore at Hammerhead-1 as it aims to ramp up production.
ExxonMobil’s plan means that the government elected after today’s general elections will shortly have to make major decisions on both the Payara and Hammerhead-1 projects. The US multinational is already drawing oil from the Liza-1 well and has already gained approval for Liza-2. At peak capacity, ExxonMobil is expecting to pump 120,000 barrels of oil per day from Liza-1.
In a notice to the public in the state-owned Guyana Chronicle, the Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday stated that ExxonMobil’s subsidiary Esso Explorat-ion and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has submitted an application for Environmental Authorisa-tion to undertake the Hammerhead project. It said that production facilities for petroleum production are estimated to last at least 20 years in the Stabroek Block area.