ExxonMobil today said that it has made a final investment decision for the Whiptail development offshore Guyana, after receiving the required government and regulatory approvals.
Whiptail, the sixth project on the Stabroek block, is expected to add around 250,000 barrels of daily capacity by the end of 2027.
The decision comes amid deepening concerns within Guyana that the government here is refusing to renegotiate the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement with the US oil major and that ExxonMobil is creaming off profits that should go to the people of this country.
“Our sixth multi-billion-dollar project in Guyana will bring the country’s production capacity to approximately 1.3 million barrels per day,” said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, a release from the company said today.
“Our unrivaled success in developing the Guyana resource at industry-leading pace, cost and environmental performance is built on close collaboration with the government of Guyana, as well as our partners, suppliers, and contractors. The Stabroek block developments are among the lowest emissions intensity assets in ExxonMobil’s upstream portfolio and will provide the world with additional reliable energy supplies now and for years to come”, the release said.
The US$12.7 billion Whiptail project will include up to 10 drill centres with 48 production and injection wells.
“We are committed to helping spread the benefits throughout the country by investing in local Guyanese communities and projects to support the country’s phased and sustainable development,” said Mallon.
Production from the six Stabroek block developments will generate tens of billions of dollars of revenue and significant economic development for Guyana, the release said. Since first production in 2019, more than US$4.2 billion has been paid into the Guyana Natural Resource Fund.
There are currently 6,200 Guyanese working in support of Stabroek block operations—which is 70% of the workforce, the release said. The cumulative spend of ExxonMobil Guyana and its contractors with Guyanese suppliers since 2015 surpassed US$1.5 billion at the end of 2023.
The Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Whiptail project, to be named Jaguar, is under construction. Three FPSOs – the Liza Destiny, Liza Unity and Prosperity – are currently operating offshore Guyana and are “safely producing” more than 600,000 barrels of oil per day. Construction is underway on FPSOs for the Yellowtail and Uaru projects, with Yellowtail anticipated to start production in 2025 and Uaru targeted in 2026.
ExxonMobil discovered oil at Whiptail on July 28, 2021.
