ExxonMobil Starts Production at Payara Oil Field in Guyana

Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Spring, Texas) said on Tuesday that the Prosperity floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel has begun oil production at the offshore Payara oil field in Guyana. The FPSO is expected to reach initial production of approximately 220,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) over the first half of next year as new wells come online, the company said.

Payara is ExxonMobil's third oil field in the Stabroek block, following the Liza Unity and Liza Destiny FPSOs, which have come online since 2019. With the startup of Payara, ExxonMobil expects to reach oil production at the Stabroek block of 620,000 BBL/d by next year and 1.2 million BBL/d by the end of 2027 with the startup of the Yellowtail and Uaru oil fields.

The oil block contains about 11 billion barrels in recoverable reserves. ExxonMobil holds 45% of the stake, followed by Hess with 30% and CNOOC with the remaining 25%. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Project Database can click here for related project reports.

"Each new project supports economic development and access to resources that will benefit Guyanese communities while also helping to meet the world's energy demand," said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company. "We're pleased to work in partnership with the Guyanese government to make reliable energy accessible and sustainable."

The success of ExxonMobil in the Guyanese blocks has attracted the interest of other international oil producers. Earlier this month, Guyana Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said the nation awarded eight new contracts for offshore blocks that included companies such as QatarEnergy (Doha, Qatar) and Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England).

Suriname, Guyana's neighbor, also has benefitted from the discoveries at the Stabroek block as international companies explore its waters in search of similar results. TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) (Paris, France), for example, is studying the possibility of investing US$9 billion in Suriname's block 58, which has reserves of 700 million barrels.

Finally, the success of the Guyanese oil industry comes against the backdrop of rising tensions with Venezuela, which claims the Essequibo territory, encompassing two-thirds of Guyana and part of the Stabroek block.

The neighboring nations are battling in the International Court of Justice over a Venezuelan referendum scheduled for December 3, where the government wants to gather support behind its fight for the territory. For now, an armed conflict between the nations is unlikely, though tensions are expected to increase.

Earlier this month, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro warned companies investing in Guyana that their projects could be at risk: "To all companies that intend to enter Venezuelan waters or undelimited waters, illegally, Venezuela will give them a response to comply with International Law. Venezuela does not recognize any license from Guyana."

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