Guyana, the only South American nation with English as the official language, has, as of recently, come into the energy media spotlight, after the discovery of oil in the country’s Stabroek Block.
Located located approximately 120 miles offshore Guyana, the block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers) large. It is equivalent in size to 1,150 Gulf of Mexico OCS blocks and contains multiple prospects and play types.
The block is also – well, not also, but mainly known as – a place where ExxonMobil has discovered the Liza field, one of the largest oil discoveries of the past decade. Exxon’s exploratory works there have led to gross recoverable resources for the Stabroek block to now be estimated at 2 billion to 2.5 billion oil-equivalent barrels.
Hess, a partner in the project, has shared an animated film showing an overview of the origins and the future production plans of the Guyana basin. You can watch the video above .
Pressing ahead towards first oil
Exxon has recently approved the first phase of the development of the Liza field that includes subsea production system and an SBM Offshore floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel designed to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day.
Production is expected to begin by 2020, less than five years after discovery of the field. Phase 1 is expected to cost just over $4.4 billion, which includes a lease capitalization cost of approximately $1.2 billion for the FPSO facility, and will develop approximately 450 million barrels of oil.
Exxon has promised the development would provide significant benefits to Guyana, including jobs during installation and operations, workforce training, local supplier development and government revenues to fund infrastructure, social programs and services.
Exxon is the operator and holds a 45 percent interest in the block. Hess holds a 30 percent interest and CNOOC holds 25 percent.
Offshore Energy Today Staff