ExxonMobil, which has so far found 11 billion barrels of oil at place offshore Guyana, is seeking environmental approval to drill another 35 wells on the very prolific Stabroek Block offshore the South American country beginning in 2023.
Exxon's local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has applied with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Guyana for the massive drilling campaign, expected to begin next year and end in 2028, Oil & Gas Journal reports.
The application, seen by Guyana's Kaieteur News, says that "The exact locations of the 35 exploration/appraisal wells comprising the Project have not yet been finalized. While some of the 35 wells will be drilled for exploration purposes, it is also possible that some of the wells may be drilled as appraisal wells within the proximity of previously drilled exploration areas. Therefore, four areas of interest have been identified within the Stabroek Block as the possible locations for the proposed 35 exploration/appraisal wells to occur."
Exxon has helped make Guyana the latest oil-producing and oil-exporting nation in late 2019. Since 2015, when it first discovered oil offshore Guyana, Exxon has made more than 20 discoveries in the waters of the South American nation.
In February this year, Exxon said it started production at Guyana's second offshore oil development on the Stabroek Block, Liza Phase 2, bringing total production capacity to more than 340,000 barrels per day (bpd). Production at the Liza Unity floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is expected to reach its target of 220,000 bpd this year, and adds to the more than 120,000 bpd of capacity at the Liza Phase 1 project that launched in December 2019.
In April, Exxon approved its fourth offshore project in Guyana, at Yellowtail, which is expected to produce 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) starting in 2025.
By 2027, Exxon plans to produce more than 850,000 bpd from Guyana's offshore, the U.S. supermajor said in a presentation on its investor day in March.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More
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