GoG welcomes two new Offshore Oil Discoveries
– oil production set to exceed 1 million barrels per day by 2030
The Ministry of Natural Resources on behalf of the Government of Guyana is once again pleased to announce Guyana’s newest oil discoveries by ExxonMobil at Sailfin-1 and Yarrow-1 Offshore Guyana, within the Stabroek Block.
The Government of Guyana anticipates that these two additional discoveries will further increase Guyana’s petroleum resources with already more than 30 discoveries within the Stabroek Block since 2015. As such, the Ministry of Natural Resources and its regulatory agencies continue to build capacity to enhance monitoring and exploration activities as Guyana’s offshore development and production accelerate at a pace that exceeds the petroleum industry average.
The Ministry of Natural Resources was advised that the Sailfin-1 well encountered approximately 312 feet (95 meters) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in 4,616 feet (1,407 meters) of water. The Yarrow-1 well encountered approximately 75 feet (23 meters) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in 3,560 feet (1,085 meters) of water. Both wells were drilled by the Stena Carron drillship.
Natural Resources Minister, Hon. Vickram Bharrat, M.P., stated that the Petroleum Sector regulatory agencies were mandated to enhance collaboration with all other operators to expedite their drill programmes as we seek to further expand the sector through the discoveries of recoverable high-quality hydrocarbon. Additionally, the much-anticipated bidding round for the oil blocks offshore Guyana is expected to bring new and emerging major petroleum companies to further increase Guyana’s oil and gas potentials, said Minister Bharrat.
Currently, the first two offshore projects, Liza Phase 1 and Liza Phase 2, are now producing above design capacity and achieved an average of nearly 360,000 barrels of oil per day in the third quarter. A third project, Payara, is expected to start up by the end of 2023, and a fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to start up in 2025. Further, ExxonMobil is also pursuing environmental authorization for a fifth project, Uaru. By the end of the decade, ExxonMobil expects Guyana’s oil production capacity to be more than one million barrels a day.
The Government of Guyana remains committed to the sustainable exploration and development of Guyana’s oil and gas resources in keeping with international best practices for production, compliance, and transparency within the petroleum sector, and to ensure benefits are derived for all Guyanese.