5th FPSO arrives in Guyana, ushering new era of million-barrel oil production

…“an important chapter in Guyana’s development story” – Min Bharrat

Guyana’s fifth offshore project, the Uaru Development, is on track for start-up this year with the arrival of the Errea Wittu Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in local waters. Using the Errea Wittu FPSO, which was constructed by Japanese-owned MODEC and had set sail from Singapore early August, the US$12.7 billion Uaru project targets more than 800 million barrels of recoverable oil in the Stabroek Block. The FPSO is designed to produce approximately 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) – the largest vessel to operate offshore, taking the country’s output to more than one million barrels per day. The Errea Wittu vessel now joins the four FPSOs currently operating in the Stabroek Block: Liza Destiny (Liza Phase One Project), Liza Unity (Liza Phase Two), Prosperity (Payara Project), and One Guyana (Yellowtail Project), which together are producing approximately 900,000 of oil per day. The prolific Stabroek Block is operated by United States (US)-based oil major ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, which holds a 45 per cent interest along with co-venturers Chevron with a 30 per cent stake and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited with the remaining 25 per cent. In a Facebook post on Friday, Exxon said the arrival of this new FPSO in local waters represents an important milestone for the continued development of its offshore operations.
According to the US-oil giant, the named Errea Wittu means “Abundance” in the Warrau language. It noted that the vessel celebrates Guyana’s rich Indigenous heritage and the promise of opportunity and growth. “We are proud to see Guyanese companies and professionals contributing to milestones like this as the industry continues to grow. As we celebrate the vessel’s safe arrival, our teams are now focused on the next phase of work to prepare the Errea Wittu for start-up,” Exxon stated.

Important chapter
Meanwhile in a statement on Friday, the Natural Resources Ministry indicated that the FPSO is expected to commence production in the fourth quarter of this year – something that subject Minister Vickram Bharrat describes as an important chapter in Guyana’s oil and gas development story. “With first oil expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, production is poised to cross the one-million-barrel-per-day mark. This is a major development for our country and one that brings with it greater responsibility to ensure Guyanese continue to benefit from the sector,” he noted.
In fact, the Natural Resources Minister reiterated the Guyana Government’s commitment to ensuring that more Guyanese take advantage of the opportunities created by the burgeoning petroleum industry. “We will also continue to push for greater local content opportunities so that more Guyanese workers and businesses can participate in and benefit from the growth of this industry,” Bharrat stated.
Under the 2021 Local Content Act, 40 different service areas were identified that oil and gas companies and their subcontractors must procure from Guyanese and Guyanese-owned businesses. Additionally, more than 2,000 local companies are currently supporting the sector, while approximately 7,000 Guyanese citizens are directly employed in the industry. Moreover, as production increases with the start-up of the Errea Wittu FPSO, the Guyana Government further reaffirmed its commitment to transparency in the management of the country’s petroleum revenues. “The Government will continue to disclose petroleum revenue receipts through the National Assembly, ensuring the people of Guyana are kept informed about the revenues earned from their resources,” the Natural Resources Minister stated. Money earned from the oil and gas industry is being held in the Natural Resources Fund (NRF), a bank account at the New York Federal Reserve Bank in the US. At the end of July 2026, the balance in Guyana’s NRF was some US$4.35 billion.
The NRF revenues are earned primarily through royalties, signature bonus and the sale of the Government’s share of profit oil from the offshore production.

Profit oil increased
Only earlier this week, President Dr Irfaan Ali disclosed that Guyana’s share of Stabroek Block profit oil has increased from 12.5 per cent to 39.8 per cent, largely because the cost bank was recovered earlier than initially anticipated. He explained that whereas as much as 75 barrels out of every 100 previously went toward cost recovery, today only about 20 barrels are allocated to costs. “The production sharing formula has never changed. It remains exactly what was written in the 2016 agreement: royalty first, then up to 75 per cent of production can go to cost recovery; whatever is left is split evenly between Guyana and Stabroek coventurers,” the Head of State explained during a press conference on Tuesday.
According to the Guyanese Leader, while the US$55 billion expenditure was already paid off, the cost bank is not saturated or entirely depleted. “The 20 barrels today account for operating and other costs, which still form part of the cost bank. That which is left is called the ‘profit oil’, and is split evenly between Guyana and the companies. Guyana’s half is about 39.8 barrels out of every hundred. The companies’ matching 39.8 barrels is split three ways between the co-venturers,” Ali explained. ExxonMobil and its co-venturers had committed an investment of US$60 billion in the Stabroek Block operations. Back in March, President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, had told reporters that the surge in oil prices on the global market due to the Middle East conflict saw Guyana getting an increase in revenues from the sale of its crude. This, he had noted, would allow for the company to recover the cost bank this year rather than in 2027, as was initially anticipated. Last month, senior executives of ExxonMobil confirmed the money as fully recovered.
“We’ve fully recovered the $55 billion of investment along with all the operating costs,” Senior Vice President (VP) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ExxonMobil, Neil Hansen, said during the company’s 2026 second quarter earnings call on July 31. Hansen attributed this acceleration of the investment recovery to the company’s execution of its projects at industry-leading pace, lower development costs, operational performance and high oil prices on the global market – a view which Exxon’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Darren Woods, also shared.