While it is thrilling to be closing the third quarter with approximately $3.2B in earnings, officials at ExxonMobil are quite pleased in being able to move forward the timeline for first oil in Guyana to December 2019. But there is still a lot to take into consideration says Neil Hansen, the Vice President for Investor Relations at ExxonMobil.
During the earnings call, the ExxonMobil Secretary cautioned investors that achieving the December target is dependent on favorable weather conditions. He noted nonetheless that preparations by the operator have placed start-up within a five year period which is well ahead of the typical pace for the industry of closer to nine years.
With respect to the Liza Phase Two Project, Hansen said that engineering and construction are progressing well while noting that the company and its partners are working with the government to receive necessary project approvals for Payara with the start-up expected as early as 2023.
Further to this, the Secretary reminded that the Tripletail discovery which Exxon had announced in September, marked the fourth exploration success of 2019, and encountered 108 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone.
Hansen said, “And we are also pleased to highlight that with deeper drilling on the well, additional hydrocarbon reservoirs were encountered, providing potential upside to the initial discovery. Also, we continued to assess considerable undrilled potential in Guyana with a fourth drilling ship, which will commence exploration activity in the fourth quarter.”
Three upcoming wells, Uaru, Mako, and Hassa are planned to spud in the upcoming months Hansen said while noting that these targets are close to the Liza wells.
