Procurement for Yellowtail development expected to start by October

…final investment decision expected in 2022

Procurement for the Yellowtail development, ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Exploration Production Guyana Limited’s (EEPGL) fourth development in Guyana’s waters, is earmarked to begin in either September or October of 2021.
This is according to ExxonMobil country manager Alastair Routledge, in a recent update on the project that is being done as part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) process of public education for the project to be given an environmental greenlight.
Routledge explained that the Yellowtail project, which is expected to start up by 2025-year end, is presently entering the engineering stage as well as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) stage.
“Some key project milestones include select design bases by mid-2021. Environmental Impact Assessment in May 2021. Engineering procurement construction and contract by September to October of 2021,” Routledge explained.
“Final investment decision in the second quarter of 2022. The drilling in first quarter of 2024. SURF installation start in the second quarter of 2024. Followed by the FPSO installation in the third quarter of 2025. The project will start up by the end of 2025,” the executive added.
It is meanwhile expected that the Field Development Plan (FDP) for Yellowtail will be submitted later this year. This was recently revealed by Hess Chief Operating Officer (COO) Greg Hill. Hill, whose company is a co-venture partner of ExxonMobil in the Stabroek Block, was at the time taking part in the 2021 first- quarter earnings call.
While the operator is slated to submit the FDP later this year, Hill had explained that for now, design work and front-end engineering, the process of establishing project costs and potential risks, are ongoing on the prospective oilfield.
The Yellowtail development will be ExxonMobil’s single largest development in Guyana’s waters in terms of barrels per day (bpd) of oil, with a mammoth 250,000 bpd targeted. This is according to the documents and project summary that EEPGL submitted to the EPA, from whom it is currently seeking environmental approval to undertake the development.
“Yellowtail will be designed to add up to 39,747 m3 (250,000 barrels) of oil a day to existing daily production volumes in Guyana with the associated additional revenues to the Government of Guyana while continuing a steady expansion of opportunities for Guyanese to participate in the petroleum industry,” the application states.
There WEre also assurances given, as it relates to flaring. Cognizant of the compressor problems that have plagued the Liza Destiny Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, which services the Liza-1 development, Exxon states that it is committed to doing business that does not infringe on environmental and other considerations.
“EEPGL committed to conducting business in a manner that is compatible with the environmental and economic needs of the communities in which it operates and that protects the safety, security, and health of its employees, those involved with its operations, its customers, and the public,” the company says in the document.
With the application for the Yellowtail oil development being reviewed by the EPA, members of the public have been invited to make submissions on the project within 28 days. Those 28 days come to an end on June 5.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). 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.
ExxonMobil has said it anticipates at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027. Already, the oil major has established an ambitious oil exploration plan for 2021 offshore Guyana.