ExxonMobil yesterday announc-ed oil discoveries at the Sailfin-1 and Yarrow-1 wells in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana.
In a statement, the company said it has made more than 30 discoveries on the block since 2015, and it has ramped up offshore development and production at a pace that far exceeds the industry average.
“Our unrivaled exploration success and accelerated pace of development in Guyana are a testament to our people, decades of experience, technology capabilities and steadfast focus on optimizing all aspects of operations,” said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company.
He added: “We are committed to responsibly and safely developing this world-class resource to help meet global demand for secure, reliable and lower-emission energy. Our investments through the pandemic have allowed us to increase supply at this critical time, while creating value for the people of Guyana, our partners and shareholders.”
The statement said that the Sailfin-1 well encountered approximately 312 feet (95 meters) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in 4,616 feet (1,407 meters) of water. The Yarrow-1 well found approximately 75 feet (23 meters) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in 3,560 feet (1,085 meters) of water. Both wells were drilled by the Stena Carron drillship.
ExxonMobil’s first two sanctioned offshore Guyana projects, Liza Phase 1 and Liza Phase 2, hit an average of nearly 360,000 barrels of oil per day in the third quarter, the statement said.
The third project, Payara, is expected to start-up by the end of 2023, and a fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to begin in 2025.
The statement noted that ExxonMobil is currently pursuing environmental authorization for a fifth project, Uaru. By the end of the decade, ExxonMobil says it expects Guyana’s oil production capacity to be more than one million barrels a day.
As has become the norm, the Ministry of Natural Resources issued a statement yesterday shortly after the ExxonMobil announcement. The ministry welcomed the two new discoveries and said it anticipates that this will further increase Guyana’s petroleum resources with already more than 30 discoveries within the Stabroek Block since 2015.
As such, it said that the Ministry and its regulatory agencies continue to build capacity “to enhance monitoring and exploration activities as Guyana’s offshore development and production accelerate at a pace that exceeds the petroleum industry average”. The Guyana Government is yet to proceed with legislation for the regulatory Petroleum Commission even though it has been in office for more than 26 months.
Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said in the government statement yesterday that the Petroleum Sector regulatory agencies were “mandated to enhance collaboration with all other operators to expedite their drill programmes as we seek to further expand the sector through the discoveries of recoverable high-quality hydrocarbon”. Additionally, he said that the much-anticipated bidding round for the oil blocks offshore Guyana is expected to bring new and emerging major petroleum companies to further increase Guyana’s oil and gas potential.
The statement added that the Government of Guyana remains committed to the “sustainable exploration and development of Guyana’s oil and gas resources in keeping with international best practices for production, compliance, and transparency within the petroleum sector, and to ensure benefits are derived for all Guyanese”.
Guyana’s Stabroek block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45% interest in the block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.
