Alistair Routledge, ExxonMobil’s country manager for Guyana, has told a press conference that the company is looking to boost its production.
This is set to be targeted at one of its floating, production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), with an increase of 18,000 barrels per day (bpd), subject to the local authorities approving the plan.
ExxonMobil, which also makes the Mobil Pegasus gas engine oil, operates the Stabroek Block on behalf of a consortium. It currently produces 665,000 bpd of crude oil there, through a number of FPSOs.
Liza Phase 1 is currently producing around 157,000 bpd, despite its authorised capacity being 160,000 bpd. The Payara and Liza Phase 2 developments, meanwhile, are each pumping 252,000 barrels per day.
The company has performed some work on the Unity FPSO of the Liza Phase 2 development to raise its capacity to 270,000 bpd, including trimming valves and increasing heat exchanges. The modelling, analysis and risk assessment now needs to be considered – not just by the company, but also the Ministry of Natural Resources and the relevant environmental agencies in Guyana.
Routledge said:
“We won’t increase any production until everybody is satisfied that we’ve done the right work.”
Routledge also said that rather than using a custom-built vessel for the upcoming Hammerhead project, a hulled ship will instead be transformed into an FPSO with a production capacity that ranges from 120,000 to 180,000 bpd. The company also plans to have its Whiptail and Uaru projects producing oil by 2027, and it is also looking at producing natural gas from the block.
