Exxon Mobil Corp. said on Feb. 5 it had reduced crude output levels at the Liza Destiny floating platform off Guyana’s coast after a gas compressor failed.

The company, which owns a 45% stake in the Stabroek block where Liza is located, did not specify current production levels. Hess Corp., one of Exxon’s partners in the block with a 30% stake, said in an earnings call last week that production had reached full capacity of 120,000 barrels per day (bbl/d).

Exxon said it would send the compressor to Germany for repairs, where it was set to arrive on Feb. 9.

“The full extent of the damage will not be known until a detailed inspection of the compressor can take place at the workshop of the manufacturer, MAN Turbo in Germany,” the company said in a statement.

Exxon, which operates the Stabroek block, had last year limited output due to problems with the reinjection of natural gas. Guyanese authorities have said they expect the consortium not to routinely flare natural gas extracted alongside crude oil, heightening the importance of gas reinjection.

The consortium led by Exxon, in which China’s CNOOC Ltd also has a 25% stake, has made 18 discoveries in the Stabroek block totaling more than 8 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas, making the South American country the world’s newest energy hotspot.

Production began in December 2019.

Offshore