New oil equivalent estimate at more than 6 billion barrels in Stabroek Block

Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 July 2019, 14:32 by Writer

Hess Corporation, a partner with ExxonMobil Guyana, on Wednesday upped the amount of hydrocarbon discovered offshore this northeastern South American country to 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).

“In Guyana, we have just increased the estimate of gross discovered recoverable resources for the Stabroek Block to more than 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent and continue to see multi-billion barrels of additional exploration potential,” Chief Executive Officer John Hess said.

A barrel of oil equivalent is essentially the amount of energy that is equivalent to the energy found in a barrel of crude oil.

ExxonMobil had in February this year estimated the number to be 5.5 billion barrels of oil from successful exploration wells on Liza, Payara, Liza deep, Snoek, Turbot, Ranger, Pacora, Longtail, Hammerhead, Pluma, Tilapia, Haimara and Yellowtail.

But Hess said as a result of this year’s discoveries and further evaluation of previous discoveries, estimated gross discovered recoverable resources on the block have been increased to more than 6 billion BOE.

ExxonMobil, the major partner in Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, expects to begin commercial oil production from Liza Phase 1 in early 2020, though some industry sources have said pumping could begin in the last quarter of 2019.

The floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, Liza Destiny, alongside which oil tankers would moor to collect oil purchases, has left Singapore and is expected to arrive in Guyanese waters in September. Liza Destiny has the capacity to produce 120,000 barrels of oil per day.

The Liza Phase 1 development is approximately 190 kilometers offshore in water depths of 1,500 – 1,900 meters and will have four drill centers with 17 wells in total: eight production wells, six water injection wells, and three gas injection wells.

The Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil says, has the potential for at least five FPSOs producing more than 750,000 gross barrels of oil per day by 2025.