…4th largest oil basin by discovered well count
With 45 oil wells being discovered since the first discovery in 2015, Guyana has been listed as having the most discovered volumes of oil, 603 million barrels, in 2023, ahead of a number of other countries who have been in the business for much longer.
This is according to Rystad Energy, a Norway-based oil and gas research and business analytic company. In its latest report, Rystad revealed that Guyana had more oil discoveries by volume than Turkey, Nigeria and Namibia. There is also potential for the estimates to grow.
“The continued growth of Guyana’s Stabroek offshore block means the Caribbean country leads the way in discovered volumes, with 603 million boe in 2023. Turkey sits second with 380 million boe, Nigeria with 296 million boe and Namibia with 287 million boe, with the potential for these estimates to grow as we better understand the reserves,” Rystad said.
Meanwhile Guyana, in conjunction with neighbouring Suriname, has also been ranked by Rystad as having the fourth largest oil basin in the world by well count in its top 15 basins list. In the ranking, the Guyana/Suriname basin eclipses Malaysia, India, Nigeria, Kuwait/Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Brazil and Namibia.
Only the deepwater gulf in the United States (US), the Viking Graben in Norway/UK and the Sureste basin in Southeast Mexico, received higher rankings. Mainland China and Russia were also excluded from the analysis.
Exxon is currently conducting 3D and 4D mapping in the Stabroek Block. It has been explained that the seismic surveying will conclude on December 31, 2023, and will use five vessels – seismic survey vessels Sanco Spirit, OSV Moonrise G, MPV Rem Saltire, seismic support vessel 7 Oceans and the OSV Atlantic Liberty.
Exxon’s fifth development, the Uaru project in the Stabroek Block, has meanwhile also been approved and a licence was issued in April. The Uaru oil development is itself targeting between 38 and 63 development wells, including production, water injection, and gas re-injection wells. Exxon had previously also made known that it anticipated first oil from the Uaru development by late 2026 or early 2027.
Last month, Exxon also received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its ambitious 35 well campaign, for which drilling is expected to start in the 2023 third quarter and will come to an end by the fourth quarter of 2028.
The Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) of the 35 exploration/appraisal wells planned for the Stabroek Block was done by ERM Guyana, which conducts environmental, health, safety and risk assessments. It had said that no major environmental impacts would result from the project.
Guyana, with US oil giant ExxonMobil as the operator, began producing oil on December 20, 2019, in the Stabroek Block. Guyana’s oil revenues are being held in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, where it is earning interest.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). Exxon, through its local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), holds 45 per cent interest in the Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.
Since last year, Guyana has been recording weekly lifts in the Stabroek Block with oil production now at 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the <<<Liza Destiny>>> and <<<Liza Unity>>> floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels. With EEPGL making weekly lifts, Guyana’s crude entitlement of one million barrels occurs monthly from the two FPSOs.
ExxonMobil has said it anticipates at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027. Production has already started in the second phase, with the <<<Liza Unity>>> FPSO vessel in operation.
The third project – the Payara development – will target an estimated resource base of about 600 million oil-equivalent barrels, and was at one point considered to be the largest single planned investment in the history of Guyana.
Meanwhile, the Yellowtail development, which will be oil giant ExxonMobil’s fourth development in Guyana’s waters, will target a mammoth 250,000 barrels per day (bpd). (G3)
