ExxonMobil FID for Whiptail Development Offshore Guyana Targets 250,000 BBL/d

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Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--After receiving all the necessary government approvals, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Spring, Texas) on Friday announced the final investment decision (FID) to move ahead with the $12.7 billion Whiptail development offshore Guyana. It will include up to 10 drill centers involving 48 production and injection wells, ExxonMobil said in press release.

ExxonMobil owns 45% of the Stabroek project and is the operator. Non-operated interests are also owned by Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. (30%) and Chinese firm CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited (25%). Whiptail is expected to add about 250,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of oil production by the end of 2027, ExxonMobil said.

A Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) (New York, New York) press release said, "The floating production, storage, and offshore loading (FPSO) vessel for Whiptail, which will be called Jaguar, is under construction."

For ExxonMobil's part, "Our sixth multi-billion-dollar project in Guyana will bring the country's production capacity to approximately 1.3 million barrels per day," said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company.

Three previous Stabroek FPSOs are already producing more than 640,000 gross BBL/d. Those developments are named Liza Destiny, Liza Unity and Payara, the latter of which is serving the Prosperity field. Two others, Yellowtail and Uaru, are being developed, with production expected to start in 2025 and 2026, respectively. They are slated to produce approximately 250,000 BBL/d.

Stabroek's total recoverable assets, according to Hess, are approximately 11 billion barrels. Experts have called it the largest discovery in approximately two decades.

The October 2023 announcement that Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) had agreed to buy Hess, including its Stabroek assets, has triggered legal action from both ExxonMobil and CNOOC, claiming first right of refusal to buy the field's assets from Hess, which would prevent Chevron from benefitting from the field in its Hess purchase. Chevron contends that because it is buying the entire company, the rights are not being transferred, but instead are staying with Hess as it comes under the Chevron umbrella. For more information, see April 9, 2024, article - Chevron Buyout of Hess Challenged by ExxonMobil, CNOOC.

Courts will decide who owns what in the near future. Should the outcome go against Chevron, it remains to be seen whether the company would then move ahead with its purchase of Hess.

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