Home News Hess’ net production of oil to increase to 110,000 barrels per day...
…9 cargoes of crude oil also expected to be sold from Stabroek Block
Guyana is expected to produce a net figure of 110,000 barrels of oil per day in the fourth quarter of the year, continuing the upward trend of oil production that will also result in nine cargoes of crude oil being sold in that period.
This is according to Hess Corporation in its 2022 third quarter report. In it, Hess reported that net production from the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) vessels was 98,000 barrels of oil per day in the third quarter of 2022. Just last year, this figure was 32,000 barrels per day.
According to Hess, net production on a quarterly basis will just continue to rise, with the fourth quarter (or the last three months of the year) expected to register 110,000 barrels of oil per day in net production.
“Net production from Guyana in the third quarter of 2022 included 7000 bopd of tax barrels. There were no tax barrels in the third quarter of 2021. The Liza Unity FPSO, which commenced production in February 2022, reached its production capacity of 220,000 gross bopd in July 2022.”
“Guyana net production is forecast to be approximately 110,000 bopd in the fourth quarter, which includes approximately 20,000 bopd of tax barrels. For the full year 2022, Guyana net production is forecast to be approximately 77,000 bopd, which includes approximately 7000 bopd of tax barrels.”
When it comes to oil sold, Hess revealed that in the third quarter, they sold eight cargos of crude oil from Guyana compared with three cargos in the prior-year quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2022, they further expect to sell nine cargos of crude oil.
The oil rich Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). Oil giant ExxonMobil, through 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.
It is understood that the joint-venturers have so far invested over G$3 trillion in the block and that their exploration and production plans up to 2025 would likely increase their investments to more than G$6 trillion. Exxon’s total investments in Guyana, meanwhile, amount to approximately G$1.3 trillion on its own.
Exxon, as operator in the Stabroek Block, is now responsible for 35 out of the 40 oil finds made in Guyana’s waters since 2015. In July of this year, it had announced oil finds at its Seabob-1 and Kiru-Kiru-1 wells.
The Seabob-1 well, drilled by the Stena Carron ship at a depth of 4660 feet, encountered 131 feet of oil. On the other hand, the Kiru-Kiru-1 well, drilled by the Stena DrillMAX at a depth of 5760 feet, encountered 98 feet of oil.
In April of this year, Exxon had also announced three oil finds in the Stabroek Block. The three discoveries were southeast of the Liza and Payara developments and at the time had brought the tally of discoveries made by ExxonMobil in Guyana in 2022 to five. The Lukanani well was spud and completed by the Noble Tom Madden, while Barreleye was drilled by the Stena DrillMAX and Patwa by Noble Don Taylor.
The first two sanctioned offshore Guyana projects for the joint venturers, Liza Phase 1 and Liza Phase 2, have so far achieved an average of nearly 360,000 barrels of oil per day in the third quarter of this year.
A third project, Payara, is expected to start-up by the end of 2023, and a fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to start-up in 2025. The partners are currently pursuing environmental authorisation for a fifth project, Uaru. By the end of the decade, it is expected that Guyana’s oil production capacity will be more than one million barrels of oil a day. (G3)
