Guyana in South America has received a boost to its oil-producing capacity, with the announcement that ExxonMobil’s Yellowtail project has started production.
Yellowtail is the fourth project to come online in the Stabroek Block. ExxonMobil, the maker of Mobile DTE hydraulic oil, operates the block with a 45% interest through a local subsidiary. China’s CNOOC holds a 25% interest, while fellow US oil major Chevron owns the remaining 30% stake through its recent acquisition of Hess Corporation.
Prior to Yellowstone, Exxon was producing 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) with four floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels named Destiny, Prosperity and Unity. The new FPSO, ONE GUYANA, can store up to two million barrels of oil and produce an average of 250,000 bpd. This makes it the biggest in the Stabroek Block so far and takes the total production from the block to 900,000 bpd.
ExxonMobil Upstream Company’s president, Dan Ammann, said:
“Yellowtail’s ahead-of-schedule startup is a significant milestone for ExxonMobil and the people of Guyana. With Guyanese making up more than 67% of the country’s oil-and-gas workforce and with over 2,000 local businesses engaged, this project reflects our deepening roots in the country and our shared commitment to long-term, inclusive growth.”
The deepwater developments in the block are regarded as being highly successful. Exxon says it has now brought four large, complicated projects online ahead of schedule and under budget. With another four projects slated to come online before 2030, the company hopes to take production from the block to 1.7 million bpd.
