Exxon Withdraws From Small Oil Exploration Block Offshore Guyana

ExxonMobil and its partner Hess Corp have withdrawn from the Kaieteur exploration block offshore Guyana as they pursue more prolific opportunities in the bigger and highly productive Stabroek block.

“Our withdrawal from the Kaieteur block has no impact on our commitment to seeking further exploration and development opportunities and to generating additional value for the government and people of Guyana,” Exxon has said in a statement carried by Reuters.

Kaieteur is around half the acreage of the Stabroek block, where Exxon and Hess have already found more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalents in place. Exxon and Hess are currently producing all of Guyana’s crude oil from the Stabroek block.

In relinquishing Kaieteur, Exxon and Hess transferred their stakes to the original license holders Ratio Guyana Limited and Cataleya Energy Limited.

Guyana has become a hotspot for exploration and development in recent years after Exxon and Hess found more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent offshore the South American country.

Currently, Guyana produces around 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude. Exxon, leading a consortium with Hess Corporation, is currently producing all the crude oil in Guyana—the world’s newest oil-producing nation, before the South American country announces winners in its first-ever offshore licensing round expected later this year.

Hess CEO John Hess has said that Guyana is on track to be pumping 1.2 million bpd by 2027 from six FPSOs from resources discovered and under development in the prolific Stabroek Block, where Exxon and Hess have made more than 20 oil discoveries.

Exxon, Hess, and CNOOC are currently preparing to launch a sixth offshore oil project in Guyana, with $12.93 billion earmarked for its development.

The three partners have also reportedly bid in Guyana’s first-ever tender for 14 offshore exploration blocks. Bidding for the 14 blocks was postponed three times this year to give prospective bidders additional time to evaluate existing data, as well as to finalize a new Production and Sharing Agreement (PSA).

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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