Guyana’s daily crude production has received a major boost with the commencement of the Yellowtail Project, ExxonMobil Guyana’s fourth oil development in the offshore Stabroek Block. The ONE GUYANA floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel began producing on Friday, joining the Destiny, Unity, and Prosperity FPSOs and pushing the country’s total installed production capacity to over 900,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). Current output stands at about 650,000 bpd, with Yellowtail expected to ramp up to 250,000 barrels per day. Oil produced from this FPSO will be marketed as Golden Arrowhead crude.
President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company Dan Ammann
“Yellowtail’s ahead-of-schedule startup is a significant milestone for ExxonMobil and the people of Guyana,” President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, Dan Ammann, said in a statement issued by ExxonMobil Guyana on Friday.
He added, “With Guyanese making up more than 67 per cent of the country’s oil-and-gas workforce and over 2000 local businesses engaged, this project reflects our deepening roots in the country and our shared commitment to long-term, inclusive growth.” Meanwhile, the Guyana Government has welcomed the startup of the ONE GUYANA FPSO, which will develop the Yellowtail and Redtail fields, discovered in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Yellowtail’s ONE GUYANA FPSO
In a statement on Friday, the Natural Resources Ministry said the vessel is equipped with state-of-the-art Subsea, Umbilicals, Risers and Flowlines (SURF) infrastructure, enabling production from 26 production wells and 25 water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection wells.
Environmental safeguards
According to the Ministry, the ONE GUYANA FPSO is the first offshore unit in the country that is designed with significant environmental safeguards.
“Built by SBM Offshore, ONE GUYANA is designed with significant environmental safeguards. It is the first FPSO offshore Guyana to feature installed sparing on all gas processing compressors and ensuring uninterrupted gas handling even during planned or unplanned maintenance events,” the Natural Resources Ministry noted.
It went onto state that the Yellowtail Petroleum Production Licence, which was approved in 2022, has been the template for future licences, embedding stronger environmental and safety requirements, improved decommissioning safeguards, and alignment with Guyana’s broader climate commitments.
“The Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Natural Resources, will continue to work to ensure the prudent management of the petroleum sector to support long-term national benefit and sustainable development,” Friday’s missive detailed. ExxonMobil Guyana Limited operates the Stabroek block with a 45 per cent interest, while Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 per cent, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited has the remaining 25 per cent.
By 2030, ExxonMobil Guyana expects to have total production capacity of 1.7 million oil equivalent barrels per day from eight developments.
“ExxonMobil Guyana’s deepwater developments are the most successful in the world. In five years, the company has started up four complex offshore mega-projects under budget and ahead of schedule – while simultaneously advancing plans for four additional projects by the end of the decade,” the United States (US)-based oil major noted. Two more 250,000 bpd developments are expected to begin production between 2026 and 2028, while another two are undergoing the application process with potential startup between 2029 and 2030. These future projects are expected to broaden the production space beyond oil, to include natural gas and condensate. Only recently, ExxonMobil Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Darren Woods said at the company’s second-quarter earnings call on August 1, that the Yellowtail startup will mark a major milestone not only for Guyana but also for the region. With the ONE GUYANA FPSO having now achieved first oil, Guyana has become the world’s largest oil producer per capita.
