Oil Export Newcomer Guyana Boosts Its Market Share In Europe

Higher demand for lighter crude grades and a major reshuffle of global oil flows following the sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have opened the door to increased volumes of crude from Guyana, the newest oil-exporting nation, into the European market.   

Guyana shipped 63% of all the oil it exports in the first six months of 2023 to Europe, with an average daily rate of 215,000 barrels per day (bpd), per Refinitiv Eikon data cited by Reuters. The share of Guyana’s crude oil exports going to Europe was around 50% of all its shipments in 2022, according to the data.   

Guyana’s increased sales in Europe have come at the expense of the U.S. Gulf region, where some refiners haven’t imported oil from the Latin American country this year. Shipments from Guyana to Asia remained flat year over year in January-June, the data showed. 

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 bpd of crude and could hit 1 million bpd production by 2027. Exxon, leading a consortium with U.S. 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.

This is according to a filing by the Guyanese government cited by Reuters, which also revealed the new project, dubbed Whiptail, will be operational in four years.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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