ExxonMobil’s Longtail development to target up to 60 wells
…between 1B and 1.5B cubic feet of gas to be produced daily
The Longtail development in the Stabroek Block, for which oil giant ExxonMobil is seeking authorization from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is intended to be ExxonMobil’s eighth development in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, and will, over its lifetime, target up to 60 production and injection wells as well as more than 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day.
Project documents detail that at least the Longtail, Tripletail, and Turbot non-associated gas fields would be developed, meaning that production of between 1 billion and 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day would be targeted.
Project documents also detail that up to 290,000 barrels of condensate, a lighter variation of crude oil derived from natural gas, are projected to be produced per day.
The Longtail development area
There is an intention to drill between 24 and 60 production and injection wells; and a massive floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel with the capacity to store two million barrels of condensate would also be built.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has invited stakeholders to consultations on both the Longtail and Hammerhead developments. According to the EPA, meetings will be held from March 17 to 28, giving stakeholders in a number of regions the chance to get more information on the projects, as well as share their concerns in regard to the projects.
In the Stabroek Block, which United States oil major ExxonMobil and its co-venturers are operating, some 17 trillion cubic feet of gas have already been found, and the Pluma and Haimara wells are proven gas fields. The governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration is seeking to develop this gas.
The Longtail-1 well has been ExxonMobil’s eighth successful oil discovery in the Stabroek Block, with 256 feet of oil being found back in 2018. Subsequently, Exxon in 2021 found 230 feet of oil at Longtail-3.
In terms of gas, Government has been actively exploring ways in which it could monetise this resource, and has contracted US-based company Fulcrum LNG to develop these monetisation options. The company is expected to work in a tripartite arrangement with the Guyana Government and ExxonMobil to develop another potential gas project.
One channel in which the Government is looking to utilize gas is in Phases One and Two of its Gas-to-Energy project, the first phase of which is currently being built at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD). The Guyana Government anticipates that the GtE Project would earn the country as much as US$500 million in savings when electricity prices are slashed by half and sale of the rich excess gas commences.
It has also been theorized that the liquids that would be derived when Guyana cleans the excess gas for products such as cooking gas or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) can be sold, and that would further bolster the country’s earnings from the GtE Project.
Invitations are currently out for proposals to design, construct, and operate a 250 MW combined-cycle power plant to deliver 2,100 gigawatt/ hours (GWh) of electricity per annum and sell same to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc.
Those invitations cater for the design, construction and operation of another NGL facility to produce daily approximately 6,000 barrels of NGL products such as propane, butane, and C5+gasolene.
ExxonMobil’s affiliate, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, is operator, and holds 45% interest in the Stabroek block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30% interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.