Weekly lifts being recorded as oil production increases in Stabroek Block

…production rate now 340,000 barrels per day

With oil production now at 340,000 barrels per day from the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block, lifts are happening every four to eight days.

This was revealed by ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Exploration Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) Public Information Officer Janelle Persaud in response to questions posed by Guyana Times.
She explained that since the ramping up of production after ExxonMobil finished installation of its new flash gas compressor and returned the Liza Destiny to pilot flaring levels, production is at 340,000 barrels in total for both projects. The frequency of lifts has thus increased, in tandem with the increase in oil production.
“Lifts happen…on the Destiny, it happens between seven to eight days. On the Unity, because of production, it happens four to six days. And so, lifts are occurring all the time. We’re producing over 340,000 barrels of oil per day right now. And so, you can image how frequent lifts are happening,” Persaud explained.
While ExxonMobil makes weekly lifts, Guyana’s crude entitlement of one million barrels occurs monthly from the two FPSOs. The Natural Resources Ministry has said that Guyana is expected to get 12 lifts for the year.
This comes from the over 90 million barrels of oil that are expected for 2022. Additionally, the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), housed at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, reflected a closing balance of US$845 million as of July.
Back in April 2022, for the first time in Guyana’s short oil production history, it had had as many as two oil lifts in one month, with lifts from the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity FPSO vessels crossing paths.
In March, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat had explained that the country got approximately US$95 million for the previous lift. And with Brent crude prices averaging US$120 per barrel at that time, Guyana would have ended up making over US$100 million for each lift, if both lifts were completed in April.
The historically high oil prices (oil prices have not exceeded US$100 on the global market since 2014) are part of the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Brent crude is currently averaging around US$100.
When the lifts were completed in April, the Guyana Government had announced it would be receiving US$106 million for its first oil lift entitlement from the Liza Unity FPSO vessel, having already sold the lift via a competitive bidding process to an ExxonMobil affiliate.
“The first cargo of Guyana’s lifting entitlement was sold to ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, following a competitive bidding process by the five companies, inclusive of the co-venturers of the Stabroek Block,” the Government had explained.
Guyana, with US oil giant ExxonMobil as the operator, began producing oil on December 20, 2019 in the Stabroek Block. The first-ever payment of US$54.9 million for an oil lift was received in February 2020.
ExxonMobil has said it anticipated at least six projects offshore Guyana would be online by 2027, with developmental drilling recently starting on the second one, the Liza Phase 2 project. Production has already started in the second phase, with the Liza Unity FPSO vessel in operation.
The third project – the Payara Development – would meanwhile 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, would turn out to be the single largest development so far in terms of barrels per day of oil, with a mammoth 250,000 bpd targeted. (G3)