Guyana to increase oil production to over 390,000 bpd in 2023 – OPEC

…ranks among 6 leading non-OPEC producers

While Guyana is already producing over 300,000 barrels of oil per day in just the Stabroek Block, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is projecting that Guyana will add another 90,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) production in 2023.

This is contained in OPEC’s first monthly report for 2023. In that report, OPEC lists Guyana among the company of six leading non-OPEC countries – the United States (1.15 million bpd), Norway (270,000 bpd), Brazil (200,000 bpd), Canada (190,000 bpd), Kazakhstan (160,000) and Guyana.
These countries, according to OPEC, will be the key drivers in the growth of oil supply from non-OPEC states. In the case of Mexico and Russia, who were included on the list, OPEC actually projected a drop in the barrels of oil per day being produced.
In particular, OPEC noted that “the main drivers of liquids supply growth for 2022 are expected to be the US, Russia, Canada, Guyana, China and Brazil, while production is expected to see the largest declines in Norway and Thailand.”
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 oil rich Stabroek Block, which is producing the oil, is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). Exxon, through its local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is the operator and 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.
Last month, the United States-based Hess Corporation announced yet another oil discovery offshore Guyana in the oil-rich Stabroek Block, where there is an estimated 11 billion-plus barrels of oil equivalent (boe) recoverable resource.
The discovery was made at the Fangtooth Southeast-1 (Fangtooth SE-1) well located approximately eight miles southeast of the original Fangtooth-1 discovery. The new discovery also came on the heels of a January 2022 oil find at the Fangtooth-1 well.
Currently, the Liza phase 1 and phase 2 developments in the Stabroek Block are operating at a combined gross production capacity of more than 360,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) using the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, respectively.
The third development in the Stabroek Block – Payara – is on track to come online by the end of 2023 with a gross production capacity of approximately 220,000 bpd. While this may be the gross production capacity, it is expected that the start-up will see a much smaller number of oil barrels being produced. For instance, when the Liza Phase two started in 2022, it was producing significantly less than its current production.
Meanwhile the Yellowtail – the fourth development – is slated for 2025 with a production capacity of some 250,000 bpd. Both these development projects have been approved by the Guyana Government.
Uaru is the fifth development and is expected to come online at the end of 2026 with a gross production capacity of approximately 250,000 bpd with first oil anticipated at the end of 2026. The development plan for Uaru was submitted for Government approval in November 2022 and final approval is expected by the end of the first quarter of this year.
ExxonMobil has said it anticipates at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027. They are meanwhile seeking project approval for their sixth oil development in Guyana’s waters, approaching the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for environmental authorisation for its Whiptail Project.
The move to seek approval for the Whiptail development comes even as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also considering whether to approve the Uaru oil development in the Stabroek Block. (G3)