Guyana Anticipates Exxon’s Seventh Oil Project Development Plan Early Next Year

 

Guyana is expecting to receive the development plan for ExxonMobil’s seventh offshore oil project early in 2025, according to Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat. Bharrat, as reported by Reuters, stated, “We have not received the field development plan as yet. That will probably be in the first quarter of 2025, and then we will conduct the necessary due diligence with the view of issuing the license once everything is okay.”

ExxonMobil, in partnership with Hess Corporation and CNOOC, is currently responsible for all of Guyana’s crude oil production. Earlier this year, the U.S. supermajor announced plans to develop a new offshore oil project on the prolific Stabroek block. The Hammerhead project, which is scheduled to commence in 2029, is expected to significantly boost Guyana’s oil production capacity to over 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd).

Presently, the consortium produces approximately 650,000 bpd. The Hammerhead discovery, made in August 2018, marked ExxonMobil’s ninth find in the Stabroek Block and is set to become the company’s seventh oil project there.

The Hammerhead project is now undergoing environmental reviews and awaits final approval from the Guyanese government. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated that an Environmental Impact Assessment will be required for this deepwater project. According to current plans, oil production at Hammerhead is projected to begin in 2029, utilizing a new Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, with an expected output of between 120,000 bpd and 180,000 bpd.

This development plan comes on the heels of ExxonMobil’s final investment decision for its sixth project, the $12.7-billion Whiptail development offshore Guyana, which recently received the necessary government and regulatory approvals.