Guyana’s 2nd lift of 1st million barrels of oil expected soon

…price will be half of first shipment

Since oil production started in the Liza field in the Stabroek Block in December of 2019, Guyana has produced over eight million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), with plans to ramp up production by next month.

This was revealed by Energy Department Director, Dr Mark Bynoe, during a Zoom press conference where he fielded questions from the media on Monday.
Bynoe further said that since production started, Guyana produces an average of between 75,000 and 80,000 barrels of oil per day in the Liza field.
Moreover, production is expected to be ramped up to 120,000 barrels per day by next month. Bynoe also cautioned that with the current coronavirus crisis, there have been restrictions on drilling.
“To date, the Liza 1 field has produced over 8 million barrels of oil, with average daily production of between 75 – 80 kbd, with an expected ramp-up to 120 kbd by early June 2020,” he explained.
Currently, he said, there are two active rigs, focused mainly on drilling water injection wells for the Liza Destiny. “[There are also] two Hot-stack Rigs: that are on standby as they require crew change and there has been some restriction on drilling operations as we all look to reduce our exposure due to the global pandemic and the state of the industry.”
Bynoe added that Guyana’s second lift of one million barrels of oil is expected in a couple of weeks.
This comes on the heels of Guyana’s first lift of its one-million-barrel share of the crude oil in February of this year.

Payara development plan
When it comes to approval of Exxon’s Field Development Plan (FDP) for Payara, it’s third proposed oil field, Bynoe indicated that this is a work in progress.
“The review of the Payara FDP is fairly advanced with some preliminary issues raised with the operator. The DE continues to engage with the operator in a collaborative manner before finalisation of the comments to be shared with the operator,” Bynoe said.
Only recently, Guyana received almost US$55 million for its first one million barrels of oil sold and would have also received its first royalty payment for the first quarter of the year.
Guyana only became an oil-producing nation last year, with Exxon so far making 16 oil finds in the Stabroek Block. In 2019, the company made five discoveries. These discoveries have pushed the total estimated recoverable barrels of oil equivalent to over six billion.
In addition, Exxon has its Liza Phase Two project, which will contain approximately 30 wells and which has already received the requisite approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Payara, meanwhile, is expected to have 45 wells that include production wells, water and gas injection wells.
But the onset of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has had a serious impact not just on lives but also the global economy and specifically, oil.
As of Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that US crude futures for delivery in June closed up 3.1 per cent at US$20.39 a barrel. The price gauge started the year above US$60 and has collapsed with the coronavirus sapping demand for fuel around the world.
Brent crude was being traded at US$66 per barrel when Guyana first started oil production in December 2019.