ExxonMobil Reports ‘Safe’ Year for Guyana Operations

Instant Max AI

(CMC, 29.Dec.2022) — ExxonMobil Guyana says 2021 has been a safe year for the oil company, noting that there had been many days across offshore operations without major incident.

“The crew on board the Liza Destiny FPSO, for instance, has reached more than 800 days without a recordable incident,” said ExxonMobil Guyana head Alistair Routledge.

There are six drill ships and two floating, production, storage and offloading vessels, or FPSOs, in the Stabroek oil block offshore Guyana, which are supported by more than 1,000 people at any given time.

“We have been able to overcome operational issues and deliver on volume targets, including five cargoes to the Government of Guyana. We’ve also continued our wonderful exploration success. Again, people tend to forget that this is a frontier exploration acreage and we shouldn’t expect the kind of success we’ve seen,” Routledge said.

ExxonMobil Guyana recorded multiple discoveries in the Stabroek block in 2021, which increased the recoverable resource estimate to approximately 10 billion oil equivalent barrels. Earlier challenges with the flash gas compressor on the Liza Destiny have also been overcome, resulting in steady, continually safe operations on the vessel. Production on the Liza Destiny remains above 120,000 barrels per day.

“In early 2022, we expect to install a new, redesigned flash gas compressor on the Liza Destiny, and we will commission the gas injection system on the Liza Unity utilising lessons learned from our first project,” Routledge said.

The oil company also said significant efforts have been made to hire local skills, utilise suppliers, and ensure that the capabilities are developed to support the needs of the industry.

There are now 3,270 Guyanese supporting the company’s petroleum operations, an increase of more than 1,000 since last December. ExxonMobil Guyana and its prime contractors have also spent more than US$540 million with more than 800 unique Guyanese vendors.

“It is very important to us that the people of Guyana benefit from our operations, not just from the revenues that are generated to the government, but also directly through the implementation of the projects,” said Routledge. “We expect over the coming years for more and more benefits to reach more people,” he added, while noting that the ‘gas to energy’ project, which is led by the government, was another such opportunity.

“In 2022, as the gas to energy project moves forward, we anticipate that there will be a lot more activities in region three. So, it won’t be just Georgetown; it will be reaching other parts of the country as well,” Routledge.

Back in February 2021, ExxonMobil Guyana also launched its GUY$20-billion Greater Guyana Initiative, a 10-year pledge by the Stabroek block co-venturers to support capacity-building, inclusive of training partnerships with TVET institutions and the University of Guyana, among other projects.

The Liza Phase One, with a production capacity of 120,000 gross barrels of oil per day, delivered its first output in December 2019 utilising the Liza Destiny FPSO. The second phase of the Liza development is expected to begin in early 2022, utilising the Liza Unity FPSO, which sailed to Guyana in October and comes equipped with gross production capacity of about 220,000 barrels of oil per day.

The third phase of development at the Payara Field is expected to start producing oil in 2024. Payara will utilise the Prosperity FPSO, with a capacity of 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

A fourth development, Yellowtail, has been identified on the Stabroek block, with anticipated start-up in 2025, pending government approvals.

Guyanese lawmakers are to debate a Local Content Bill that requires oil companies and their sub-contractors to provide a local content master plan to the government, laying out their overall capacity plans, inclusive of employment, procurement and capacity development; the quality and quantity criteria required for the supply of goods and the provision of services; and a statement and estimate of the value of local content.

The plan is be submitted to the Minister of Natural Resources for approval within four months of the Local Content Act taking effect, or within four months of the granting of a licence or entering into a petroleum agreement with the government.

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