US supermajor ExxonMobil and the consortium in charge of the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana revealed that it made two oil discoveries, extending its total number of discoveries in the country to more than 25.
ExxonMobil, which operates Stabroek with a 45% stake, said on 26 July the Seabob and Kiru-Kiru finds are the sixth and seventh in Guyana this year, and will add to the block’s gross discovered recoverable resource estimate of approximately 11 billion BOE.
The Seabob-1 well encountered approximately 131 ft (40 m) of high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing Upper Campanian sandstone reservoirs and was drilled in 4,660 ft (1421 m) of water by the drillship Stena Carron.
The Kiru-Kiru-1 well encountered approximately 98 ft (30 m) of high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled by the drillship Stena DrillMAX in 5,760 ft (1756 m) of water. Drilling operations at Kiru-Kiru are ongoing, according to ExxonMobil.
“ExxonMobil and its partners continue to accelerate exploration, development, and production activities for the benefit of all stakeholders, including the people of Guyana,” said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream, in a statement. “The resources we are investing in and discovering offshore Guyana will provide safe, secure, energy for global markets for decades to come.”
US independent Hess, which holds a 30% interest in the block, said in its second-quarter earnings call on 27 July that Guyana is key to its business strategy.
“On the Stabroek Block in Guyana, we continue to see the potential for at least six floating production storage and offloading vessels in 2027 with a gross production capacity of more than 1 million B/D and up to 10 FPOs to develop the discovered resources on the block,” said Hess Chief Executive John Hess.
Ahead of Schedule
The discoveries come at a time when its two floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) operating offshore Guyana, the Liza Destiny FPSO and Liza Unity FPSO, have exceeded their initial combined production target of 340,000 BOPD.
Construction of the Prosperity FPSO for the Payara project is about 5 months ahead of schedule according to ExxonMobil. Production from Payara is expected to reach 220,000 BOPD. Startup of the Prosperity is likely to occur before year-end 2023.
A fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to produce 250,000 B/D when the ONE GUYANA FPSO comes online in 2025.
According to Hess, front-end engineering and design work for its fifth development at Uaru-Mako is underway, with a development plan expected to be submitted to the government by year end. First oil is targeted for 2026 pending government approvals and project sanctioning, according to Hess.
Exploration Drilling Continues
ExxonMobil is pushing forward with its exploration drilling campaign in the block. The company is currently drilling the Banjo-1 exploration well with Noble Corporation drillship Noble Sam Croft and the Yarrow-1 exploration well with the drillship Stena Carron.
"The Yarrow-1 well will test stacked Upper Campanian targets, up-dip of discoveries at Whiptail and Tilapia. The well is located 19 miles south of the Yellowtail-1 discovery well," said Hess Chief Operating Officer Greg Hill.
"The Banjo-1 well will also target stacked Upper Campanian targets west of Barreleye and up-dip of Mako. The well is located 8 miles northwest of the Barreleye-1 discovery well. These wells will appraise the development potential of the inboard oil play in the southeast portion of the block."
