$88M approved to review Guyana’s fifth oil development – Natural Resources Minister
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat has announced that $88 million has been approved for a consultancy firm to review the field development plan of Guyana’s fifth oil development-Uaru.
This news was shared on Tuesday, during the consideration of estimates and expenditures for the Natural Resources Ministry in the Committee of Supply.
In January 2020, ExxonMobil announced that Uaru-1 was the 16th discovery in the Stabroek Block. The well encountered approximately 94 feet (29 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled in 6,342 feet (1,933 meters) of water.
In April, 2021, Uaru-2 was announced by the oil giant. Drilling at Uaru-2 encountered approximately 120 feet (36.7 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing reservoirs including newly identified intervals below the original Uaru-1 discovery. The well was drilled in 5,659 feet (1,725 meters) of water and is located approximately 6.8 miles (11 kilometers) south of the Uaru-1 well.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEGPL) is operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Limited. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 percent interest.
This development in Guyana increases the potential to as many as 10 floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels with an increase of the estimated recoverable resource given by operator, EEPGL. The Government of Guyana stands committed to the sustainable development of Guyana’s oil and gas resources to ensure that the benefit from this sector transforms all traditional productive sectors to enhance the lives of all Guyanese.
Importantly, government earlier this week selected Bayphase – a United Kingdom consultancy – to review the field development plan country’s fourth oil development, Yellowtail. Just last week, Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo stated that the government is putting all systems in place for the approval of the Yellowtail, with completion anticipated for March.
Yellowtail is Guyana’s fourth and biggest oil project in the Stabroek Block and is proposed by ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited.