ExxonMobil committed to developing Guyana’s financial, energy resources – ExxonMobil’s VP

Vice President of ExxonMobil, Liam Mallon has underscored that ExxonMobil will continue to develop Guyana’s financial, human and energy resources providing truly sustainable benefits for generations to come, as the oil and gas industry continues to grow at an exponential rate.

There are numerous long-term opportunities in the oil and gas sector for Guyanese citizens and businesses to invest in and grow.

He was delivering remarks at the opening ceremony of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo on Monday.

Onshore, there are various blossoming activities tied, both directly and indirectly, to energy development, new businesses, hotels, shops, hospitals, roads, bridges and so much more.

Last year, more than 6,000 Guyanese workers were employed in the oil and gas sector, with 1,700 Guyanese working in offshore operations. More than 1,500 local companies are involved in oil and gas development.

“What we are going to do here will be to create a sustainable development beyond oil and gas. And I believe we are well on the path of doing that…and we should remember, we are in the very early years, and these numbers will continue to grow as investment and production grow. We are taking sustainable actions to maximise the capacity of Guyanese workers,” Exxon Mobil’s VP highlighted.

These sustainable ventures include the Greater Guyana Initiative, TVET schools, STEM programmes, new training centres, specialised instructions in these centres and state-of-the-art facilities to equip people to work in this extraordinary business.

In October 2023, the US$4.5 million hydroponics project was launched through funding from ExxonMobil under its Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI). This undertaking will allow youths of Regions Two, Five and Ten, to produce high-value crops aimed at advancing the region’s 25 by 2025 agenda.

Among the key programmes designed to help Guyanese become more skilled in different areas to assist with offshore operations are the Trainee Technician Programme and the Graduate Engineers Programme.

In April, the Prosperity floating production storage and offloading (FPSO), arrived in Guyana’s waters after more than 50 days sailing across the oceans from Singapore in an industry record time. Production which commenced seven months after is currently producing over 230,000 barrels a day.

In November, Vreed-En-Hoop’s Shorebase opened for business and immediately made global news by hosting the longest ship ever to enter the Demerara.  Guyana’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 33 per cent which is an astounding increase and evidence of Guyana’s claim to be the world’s fastest-growing economy.

Mallon emphasised that these milestones which are happening every single day all because of their shared commitment towards the responsible development of Guyana’s bountiful resources.

He further divulged, “It all started, as most of you know, more than 100 miles offshore in the 6.6 million acres of Stabroek Block. Three of the world’s largest, best-in-class, FPSO vessels and their people, the Unity, Destiny and Prosperity are producing almost 645,000 barrels a day. That is up in just one year. From 370,000 barrels a day. It is a phenomenal achievement, something that we are extraordinarily proud of.”

Every day, these three FPSOs are visited by massive tankers to take their volumes of crude oil to global eager markets which are doing extraordinarily well.

“We’re moving from discovery to development in less than five years. The rest of the industry typically takes twice that. Our first two boats ramped up to peak production significantly earlier than planned and have subsequently gone way beyond what we planned. And certainly, in the early days, we expect to see a similar performance from Prosperity,” VP Mallon said.

These FPSOs, he indicated, are running flawlessly, efficiently and within rigorous environmental standards.

With the newest vessel in the fleet, Prosperity FPSO, expected to reach 220,000 barrels per day of production by March, oil and gas exploration and production are expected to pick up steam in 2024.

Other than achieving peak production, he added, “We are equally proud that on Prosperity we achieved background flaring in just 39 days, another industry record. Almost half the time it took us to do the same thing on Unity.” 

He emphasised the remarkable works being executed by the six drilling rigs and their crews every day 24/7 throughout the block.

“We are well on our way to completing the 140-mile gas-to-energy pipeline that will connect the Liza wells to the mainland and help half the parallels, while also reducing emissions,” the vice president noted.

Guyana, like other countries, has played a critical role in contributing to the global energy market.

The outsize influence that Guyana now exerts on the world stage is due to the extraordinarily successful energy developments and the country’s policies that we have all worked so hard to achieve. It is not just energy security benefits that we are seeing but environmental ones too.

Guyana, he added, continues to exhibit world leadership that other countries can emulate.

“The government’s ability and agility in efficiently fulfilling its role enables us to act quickly to fulfil ours. And that, in my mind, helps explain what has made this leadership the true success that it is. Governments around the world should take note of the strong signal Guyana is sending to responsible operators with money to invest. It is an appealing place to do business,” VP Mallon underlined.

He underscored that this great conference that has now expanded to include the supply chain is many things including a celebration of the amazing progress so far, and a recognition of everything that is going to come.

The conference themed ‘Fueling Transformation and Modernisation’ will run from February 19-22, at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.