Rigzone, the international online resource for news on the oil & gas industry reported earlier this week that ExxonMobil has commenced oil recovery from Guyana’s second offshore oil development on the Stabroek Block, Liza Phase 2, a development which it says now brings the country’s overall production capacity to upwards of 340,000 barrels per day, just seven years following the company’s 2015 announcement of ‘first oil’ offshore Guyana.
According to the report, the commencement of Liza Phase 2 now adds to the upwards of 120,000 barrels per day capacity at the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit situated offshore Guyana.
Rigzone reports that the Guyana offshore oil recovery operation commenced in December 2019 and is now delivering what it describes as “better than design capacity,” adding that the Stabroek Block’s “recoverable resource base” is now estimated at more than 10 billion oil equivalent barrels.
President of ExxonMobil’s Upstream Oil and Gas, Liam Mallon, is quoted as saying that the company is “collaborating closely with the government and people of Guyana to develop this world-class resource responsibly, helping to meet the world’s energy needs and delivering enhanced value for all stakeholders at a record pace and well ahead of the industry average… With unparalleled project execution, we now have two production facilities operating offshore Guyana,” the ExxonMobil Executive highlighted.
News emanating from ExxonMobil that it has now ramped up its oil recovery level from the Liza Block is likely to attract further attention to Guyana, notably from international investors who have long begun to seek out the onshore business opportunities that are already beginning to derive from the country becoming one of the world’s contemporary high-profile oil & gas producers.
Simultaneously, Guyana’s oil prospects have triggered a plethora of social, political, and business reactions in Guyana on topics ranging from the environmental implications of the country becoming a major oil-producing country to protecting the country’s receivables from oil sales from corrupt diversion and ensuring that foreign investor interest does not impact negatively on local businesses seeking to benefit from the expansion of business opportunities that are expected to derive from the opportunities created by the country’s oil wealth. Contextually, Local Content is one of the more eagerly discussed oil & gas-related issues in Guyana at this time.
The current continued expansion in oil recovery operations offshore Guyana by ExxonMobil will necessitate the operation of up to four FPSO’s with a combined capacity of more than 800,000 barrels per day operating in the Stabroek Block by the end of 2025. One of those, the Prosperity FPSO vessel, is currently under construction, the Rigzone report disclosed.
Meanwhile, according to Rigzone, ExxonMobil has already submitted to the government, the field development plan and application for environmental authorisation for the Yellowtail project (the fourth project in the Stabroek Block) for approval. The Rigzone report attributes to ExxonMobil, the commitment that “the timely development of these additional projects and continued exploration success offshore would enable the steady advancement of Guyanese capabilities and enhanced economic growth.”
ExxonMobil has become one of the most sought after employers among job-seeking Guyanese.
The Liza Unity is the world’s first FPSO to be awarded the Sustain-1 notation by the American Bureau of Shipping in recognition of the sustainability of its design, documentation, and operational procedures, the Rigzone report noted.
