ExxonMobil adds to discoveries offshore Guyana

ExxonMobil has increased its resource estimate for the Stabroek block offshore Guyana with three new discoveries that will help inform future development plans for the southeast part of the block, the company said in a release Apr. 26.

Discoveries at Barreleye-1, Patwa-1, and Lukanani-1—southeast of the Liza and Payara developments—bring the number of discoveries offshore Guyana by the operator so far this year to five and increase the block resource estimate to nearly 11 billion bbl.

Barreleye-1 well encountered about 230 ft (70 m) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in 3,840 ft (1,170 m) of water. Drilling at Patwa-1 encountered 108 ft (33 m) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was conducted in 6,315 ft (1,925 m) of water. Lukanani-1 encountered 115 ft (35 m) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in a water depth of 4,068 ft (1,240 m). Operations are ongoing at Barreleye-1 and Lukanani-1.

Current projects

ExxonMobil currently has four sanctioned projects offshore Guyana. Liza Phase 1 is producing about 130,000 b/d using the Liza Destiny floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Liza Phase 2, which started production in February, is ramping up to its capacity of 220,000 b/d using the Liza Unity FPSO. The third project, Payara, is expected to produce 220,000 b/d; construction on its production vessel, the Prosperity FPSO, is running about 5 months ahead of schedule with start-up likely before yearend 2023. The fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to produce 250,000 b/d when the ONE GUYANA FPSO comes online in 2025.

At least six FPSOs with a production capacity of more than 1 million b/d of oil (gross) are expected to be online on Stabroek block in 2027, with the potential for up to 10 FPSOs to develop gross discovered recoverable resources, said partner Hess Corp. in a separate release.

Guyana’s Stabroek block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 sq km). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd. is operator with 45% interest. Partners are Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. with 30% interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Ltd. with 25% interest.