Exxon has made yet another in a long string of discoveries offshore Guyana in the Stabroek block, the company said this week.
"Longtail-3, combined with our recent discovery at Uaru-2, has the potential to increase our resource estimate within the Stabroek block, demonstrating further growth of this world-class resource and our high-potential development opportunities offshore Guyana," said Mike Cousins, Exxon's senior VP of exploration and new ventures.
The new discovery, at the Longtail-3 well, follows another recent one, from April, at the Uaru-2 well, which in turn followed a January discovery at the Uaru-1 well, cementing Guyana's status as one of the biggest hot spots in oil exploration right now.
The Stabroek block reserves are estimated at some 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent following a series of discoveries.
Exxon and its partner in the Stabroek block, Hess Corp., expect at least six projects online by 2027 and see the potential for up to 10 floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) to develop the current recoverable resources offshore Guyana.
The Liza Phase 1 offshore project-Guyana's first oil-producing project led by ExxonMobil-has reached its full planned production capacity of some 130,000 barrels per day (bpd), Guyana's President Irfaan Ali said earlier this year.
The Liza Phase 2 Project is designed to pump up to 220,000 bpd with a floating, production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO), with start-up expected in the middle of next year, Exxon says.
Guyana is one of the top priorities in the U.S. supermajor's strategy to focus on high-return and cash-generating projects that would allow it to grow its dividend through 2025. The company recently revised up its Guyana production target for that year to 800,000 bpd, with output reaching 1 million bpd by 2027. By that year, there will be at least six wells operating in the Stabroek block, according to Exxon and Hess.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry. More