Guyana expands oil production

GEORGETOWN – The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Natural Resources has welcomed the announcement by ExxonMobil on the commencement of production at Guyana’s Second Offshore Development from the Liza Unity vessel.

The operation of the Liza Unity floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel will realize its target of 220 000 barrels of oil per day later this year which will bring Guyana’s production capacity to more than 340 000 barrels per day, which includes the more than 120 000 barrels per day capacity at the Liza Destiny FPSO.

“The Government of Guyana and citizens welcome the operation of this new FPSO to sustainably extract and manage the country’s oil and gas resources, which will further enhance earnings from this sector to drive Guyana’s infrastructure development and improve the delivery of services to all citizens,” said Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat.

Bharrat pointed out that the increased total daily capacity of oil augers well for Guyana, especially on the heels of operationalising the Local Content Secretariat and the Natural Resources Fund, in keeping with the Santiago Principles of transparency and accountability within the petroleum sector. Further, the GoG will be taking all necessary steps to ensure that all Guyanese benefit from the earnings derived from the petroleum sector.

As such, the Government of Guyana has mandated the Ministry of Natural Resources to coordinate and work closely with international partners, local regulatory agencies, and key stakeholders within the petroleum sector to ensure the sector performs optimally in keeping with internationally recognized best practices.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says that it will continue to work with ExxonMobil which will bring at least four FPSOs into operation to produce more than 800 000 barrels per day from the Stabroek Block by the end of 2025.

Additionally, Payara, the third project in the Stabroek Block, is expected to produce approximately 220 000 barrels of oil per day using the Prosperity FPSO vessel, which is currently under construction.

The field development plan and application for environmental authorization for the Yellowtail project, the fourth project in the block, have been submitted for review by the government and other regulatory approval.

The Liza Unity arrived in Guyana in October 2021.

It is moored in a water depth of about 1 650 meters and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude.

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. (CMC)