‘2021 has been a very safe year for ExxonMobil Guyana operation’s – Subsidiary’s head

credits other successes to collaboration among key stakeholders

President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge said the company has had a safe year of operations in line with its commitment to “Nobody Gets Hurt”.  Recalling the safety performance for the year, he disclosed that there were hundreds of days across offshore operations without a recordable safety incident.

“The crew onboard the Liza Destiny FPSO for instance has reached more than 800 days without a recordable incident,” he pointed out. “It is a value for us that people are looked after and that the workplace is safe. We take care of one another.”

There are six drill ships and now two floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana which are supported by more than 1000 people at any given time.

Routledge classified 2021 as an outstanding year for ExxonMobil Guyana, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have been able to overcome operational issues and deliver on volume targets including five cargoes to the Government of Guyana. We’ve also continued our wonderful exploration success. Again, people tend to forget that this is a frontier exploration acreage and we shouldn’t expect the kind of success we’ve seen,” Routledge outlined.

ExxonMobil Guyana recorded multiple discoveries in the Stabroek Block in 2021, which increased the recoverable resource estimate to approximately 10 billion oil equivalent barrels. Earlier challenges with the flash gas compressor on the Liza Destiny have also been overcome, resulting in steady, continually safe operations on the vessel.  Production on the Destiny remains above 120, 000 barrels per day, while the flare is maintained at regulatory required levels.

“At ExxonMobil Guyana, our teams strive for continuous improvement in our operations and environmental performance. In early 2022, we expect to install a new redesigned flash gas compressor on the Liza Destiny, and we will commission the gas injection system on the Liza Unity utilising lessons learned from our first project,” the lead country manager stated.

Of significant note for the company, is the ongoing work to ensure that Guyanese are continually benefitting from the production of the country’s oil and gas resources. To this effect, significant efforts have been made to hire the necessary skills, utilise suppliers and ensure that the capabilities are developed to support the needs of the industry.

There are now 3,270 Guyanese supporting the company’s petroleum operations, an increase of more than 1,000 since this time last year. ExxonMobil Guyana and its prime contractors have also spent more than US$540M with over 800 unique Guyanese vendors.

“It is very important to us that the people of Guyana benefit from our operations, not just from the revenues that are generated to the government, but also directly through the implementation of the projects,” Routledge expressed. “We expect over the coming years for more and more benefits to reach more people.”

He pointed to the Gas-to-Energy project, which is led by the government as another such opportunity. “In 2022, as the gas to energy project moves forward, we anticipate that there will be a lot more activities in Region Three. So, it won’t be just Georgetown, it will be reaching other parts of the country, as well.”

The launch of the GY$20B Greater Guyana Initiative in February 2021, was another tangible expression of ExxonMobil Guyana’s commitment to bringing value to lives of Guyanese.  It is a 10-year pledge by the Stabroek Block Co-venturers to support capacity building. Work has been ongoing with key Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and the University of Guyana, while several new projects have been initiated and will be announced in the coming weeks.

“I think the most significant achievement of 2021 is that the entire business was able to move forward and essentially meet all of our commitments, which in the face of the pandemic, and all the other challenges we’ve seen in the last year is really outstanding. It speaks to the resilience and perseverance of everyone who is involved in this industry including the private sector, community partners and the government of Guyana,” Routledge expressed.

The Liza Phase One development, with a production capacity of 120,000 gross barrels of oil per day, delivered first production in December 2019 utilising the Liza Destiny FPSO.

The second phase of the Liza development, sanctioned in May 2019, will use the Liza Unity FPSO, which sailed to Guyana in October, comes equip with gross production capacity of approximately 220,000 barrels of oil per day, with start-up expected by early 2022.

A third phase of development, at the Payara Field was sanctioned in September 2020. First oil is expected in 2024. Payara will utilise the Prosperity FPSO, which will have the capacity to produce up to 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

A fourth development, Yellowtail, has been identified on the Stabroek Block with anticipated startup in 2025, pending government approvals and project sanctioning.