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Exxon Mobil Corp. has made a final investment decision (FID) for the Whiptail development offshore Guyana after receiving government and regulatory approvals.
Whiptail, the sixth project on the Stabroek block, is expected to add approximately 250,000 barrels of daily capacity by the end of 2027, the company said in a news release Friday. The project, estimated to cost $12.7 billion, will include up to 10 drill centers with 48 production and injection wells.
“Our sixth multi-billion-dollar project in Guyana will bring the country’s production capacity to approximately 1.3 million barrels per day,” Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, said. “Our unrivaled success in developing the Guyana resource at industry-leading pace, cost and environmental performance is built on close collaboration with the government of Guyana, as well as our partners, suppliers, and contractors. The Stabroek block developments are among the lowest emissions intensity assets in ExxonMobil’s upstream portfolio and will provide the world with additional reliable energy supplies now and for years to come”.
The floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Whiptail project, to be named Jaguar, is under construction, ExxonMobil said, adding that three FPSOs are currently operating offshore Guyana and are producing more than 600,000 barrels of oil per day. Construction is underway on FPSOs for the Yellowtail and Uaru projects, with Yellowtail anticipated to start production in 2025 and Uaru targeted in 2026, the oil major stated.
Production from the six Stabroek block developments will generate tens of billions of dollars of revenue and significant economic development for Guyana, ExxonMobil said, adding that more than $4.2 billion has been paid into the Guyana Natural Resource Fund since 2019. The cumulative expenditures of ExxonMobil Guyana and its contractors with Guyanese suppliers since 2015 surpassed $1.5 billion at the end of 2023, according to the release.
“We are committed to helping spread the benefits throughout the country by investing in local Guyanese communities and projects to support the country’s phased and sustainable development,” Mallon remarked.
ExxonMobil affiliate ExxonMobil Guyana Limited is the operator and holds a 45 percent interest in the Stabroek block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest, while CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.
The FID comes after ExxonMobil announced its latest discovery in Guyana’s Stabroek last month, adding to multiple exploration successes in the block.
The 6.6-million-acre Stabroek block is a hotly contested area between global oil giants, as ExxonMobil challenged block partner Hess Corp’s planned stake divestment, which is part of the latter’s pending acquisition by Chevron Corp. The asset holds 11 billion barrels, and production has the potential to double to 1.2 million barrels a day by 2027, raising the oil production profile of Guyana globally.
ExxonMobil and Cnooc Ltd. last month merged arbitration claims against Chevron’s proposed takeover of Hess Corp., arguing that they have a right of first refusal over Hess’s stake in the block, according to an earlier report. ExxonMobil and Cnooc own 45 percent and 25 percent of Stabroek, respectively.
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