Exxon Mobil Corp. is eyeing gross production of 620,000 bbl/d offshore Guyana in the Stabroek Block over the short-term with the start-up of its third project Payara, which has a production capacity of 220,000 bbl/d.

The project started ahead of schedule and is expected to reach its nameplate production capacity in the first half of 2024 as new wells are brought online, both Exxon and Hess Corp. said Nov. 14 in separate press releases.

Texas-based Exxon expects to have six floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units in Stabroek with a gross production capacity of 1.2 MMbbl/d by year-end 2027. Hess reiterated there is potential for up to 10 FPSOs to develop the estimated gross discovered recoverable resources in Stabroek of over 11 Bboe.

Gross combined production from first project Liza Phase 1 (using the FPSO Destiny) and the second one Liza Phase 2 (using the FPSO Unity) is around 400,000 bbl/d. The addition of the third project Payara will take production to 620,000 bbl/d. The FPSO for the Payara project, named Prosperity, is moored in water depth of around 6,300 ft and will develop a resource base estimated at over 600 MMbbl of oil, according to Hess.

Two additional projects in Stabroek are in progress. The fourth project Yellowtail will add production of 250,000 bbl/d, while the fifth project Uaru will add another 250,000 bbl/d. Exxon continues to work with the Guyana government to secure regulatory approvals for the sixth project Whiptail.

Exxon operates Stabroek with a 45% interest with partners Hess (30%) and CNOOC (25%). Chevron Corp.’s $53 billion all-stock deal to acquire Hess will see the California-based company team up with Exxon as the two most dominant players in both the block and the country as a whole.

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“Exxon’s Guyana developments are generating around 30% lower greenhouse gas intensity than the average of Exxon Mobil’s upstream portfolio,” the company said in its press release.

The Guyana projects are “also among the best performing in the world with respect to emissions intensity, outpacing 75% of global oil and gas producing assets,” Exxon said in the release, citing details from Rystad Energy.

Offshore