Hess Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Hess has revealed that Guyana’s Liza Unity and Liza Destiny floating production and offloading (FPSO) vessels have exceeded performance expectations. During the JP Morgan 2023 Energy, Power and Renewables Conference, he said as well that there is immense exploration potential in Guyana’s deep waters, even as the country is already producing over 375,000 barrels of oil per day from these two ships operating within the 6.6 million acres Stabroek Block, operated by ExxonMobil Guyana.
It must be noted that while the block is operated by Exxon, Hess has a 30 percent share. Meanwhile, 25 percent lies with CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited.
The CEO revealed that five low-cost developments have already been sanctioned, with the first two (Liza Phase One and Two) already producing over 375,000 barrels of oil per day and peaking closer to 400,000 barrels per day. He said there are three more developments, including Payara, Yellowtail, and Uaru, which are slated to come online soon.
To ensure the reservoir’s performance and evaluate potential future developments, Hess disclosed plans for drilling two more prospects, “Basher” and “Lanternfish”, in the second half of 2023. These exploratory efforts he said aim to appraise the area for the deep horizon’s future development.
Hess also expressed optimism about the results so far but acknowledged that it is a work in progress.
Further, he said that financial returns in Guyana have been better than the industry average, with breakeven prices between US$25 and US$35 per barrel of Brent crude.
The CEO said this favourable economic climate has positioned Guyana as one of the best investment opportunities in the industry. In fact, Hess said Guyana’s brightest days are yet to come since daily production could reach 1.2 million barrels by 2027.
Hess also emphasized the supportive stance of the Guyanese government towards investment and business, further highlighting the potential for 10 FPSOs to develop the discovered resource and the existence of multi-billion barrels of exploration potential.
The ongoing success in the Stabroek Block, including the recent Fangtooth Southeast-1 (Fangtooth SE-1) well discovery, has led to increased confidence in the future development of Guyana’s oil sector and Payara, Yellowtail, and Uaru are progressing as planned, with government approvals in place.
ExxonMobil and its co-venture partners foresee at least six projects being operational offshore Guyana by 2027, and the appraisal results for the Fangtooth well could potentially lead to an increase in the planned number of FPSOs to seven.
Guyana’s oil potential continues to attract significant interest and investment, setting the stage for substantial growth in the country’s oil and gas industry in the coming years.