Forbes Piece: ExxonMobil, Hess Announcements Add To Guyana’s Oil And Gas Bonanza

[Note: This story was also published at Forbes.com]

The Stabroek Market in Georgetown, Guyana, on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. Since the first oil was drilled three years ago, Guyana's economy has become the fastest-growing in the world. Photographer: Eilon Paz/Bloomberg © 2022 BLOOMBERG FINANCE LP

The offshore oil riches potential for the tiny South American nation of Guyana expanded again this week with a pair of announcements of new successes in the prolific Stabroek block under development by a consortium led by ExxonMobilXOM.

On Wednesday, April 26, consortium partner HessHES Corp. announced another successful discovery well would add to significant new production to the development’s inventory. "The Lancetfish-1 well encountered approximately 92 feet of oil bearing sandstone reservoir. The well was drilled in 5,843 feet of water by the Noble Don Taylor and is located approximately 4 miles southeast of the Fangtooth discovery", Hess said in a release. The referenced Fangtooth SE-1 discovery was drilled in January.

Hess owns 30% of the consortium, while ExxonMobil, the operator, owns 45% and Chinese company CNOOC had a 25% stake. Hess noted its “net production net from the Liza Destiny and the Liza Unity FPSOs totaled 112,000 bopd in the first quarter of 2023 compared with 30,000 bopd in the prior-year quarter.” The 112,000 net production would equate to roughly 375,000 gross bopd production for the consortium as a whole during the period.

The following day, April 27, ExxonMobil announced it has made a final investment decision (FID) to proceed with the planned Uaru development after having secured needed government and regulatory approvals. Uaru will become the 5th development project at Stabroek, with an anticipated additional production capacity of 250,000 bopd once development commences in 2026.

“Our fifth, multi-billion-dollar investment in Guyana exemplifies ExxonMobil’s long-term commitment to the country’s sustained economic growth,” said Liam Mallon, president of the ExxonMobil Upstream Company. “Our Guyana investments and unrivalled development success continue to contribute to secure, reliable global energy supplies at this critical time.”