ExxonMobil to stay busy with Guyana’s deepwater oil & gas development ops in 2025

With nearly $55 billion committed to the development of six government-sanctioned projects, ExxonMobil Guyana, a subsidiary of America’s oil major ExxonMobil, is going to remain hard at work during 2025 to develop the oil and natural gas resources at the Stabroek block off the coast of Guyana.

Less than five years after Guyana became an oil-producing nation, ExxonMobil Guyana and its Stabroek block co-venturers, Hess and CNOOC, marked a production milestone in November 2024 with 500 million barrels of oil produced from the Stabroek block. Since production started in 2019, the company has paid over $5.4 billion in oil revenues and royalties to the Guyana Natural Resource Fund.

However, ExxonMobil, Hess, and CNOOC have committed almost $55 billion to develop six sanctioned projects on Guyana’s offshore Stabroek block. The first three projects – Liza Phase 1, Liza Phase 2, and Payara – averaged over 650,000 barrels of oil per day in production. However, plans are in place to grow production capacity to more than 1.3 million barrels of oil per day when all six projects are up and running. 

ExxonMobil expects oil production to generate tens of billions of dollars of revenue and significant economic development for Guyana, as over 6,000 Guyanese support the Stabroek block operations, which is nearly 70% of the industry workforce locally. ExxonMobil Guyana is the operator and has a 45% interest in this block, while Hess Guyana Exploration holds a 30% interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana has the remaining 25% interest.

According to the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), ExxonMobil will continue deepwater development operations within the Yellowtail, Liza, Payara, and Uaru 1 and 2 fields at the Stabroek block of Guyana’s exclusive economic zone until December 31, 2025. The activities are expected to incorporate the use of several vessels, including Emily Day McCall, Seacor Amazon, Michael Crombie McCall, and Seacor Congo.

Covering an area of 25.4, 136.8, and 25.8 square nautical miles, which is 87.4, 469.3, and 88.6 square kilometers, the areas where activities will be undertaken are situated around 107.4, 97.1, and 105.6 nautical miles, equivalent to 198.9, 179.8, and 195.7 kilometers off the coast of Guyana.

ExxonMobil Guyana will handle deepwater development operations within the Uaru 1 and 2 fields with the OSV Normand Frontier approximately 105.6 nautical miles or 195.7 kilometers offshore Guyana. The firm will also take care of operations within the Liza and Payara fields with the AHT O’Rouke Tide around 97.1 nautical miles, which is 179.8 kilometers, in Guyana’s 136.8 square nautical miles (469.3 square kilometers) area.

In December 2024, ExxonMobil marked five years of oil production from the Stabroek block, confirming that Guyana became the third largest per-capita oil producer in the world, as the oil and gas sector spurred “tremendous economic growth” in the country, helping to elevate it to one of the fastest-growing economies globally. 

“ExxonMobil Guyana’s deepwater developments are the most successful in the world. In five years, the company has started up three complex offshore mega-projects on schedule and on budget, while simultaneously advancing plans for five additional projects by the end of the decade,” outlined the U.S. player.

The company is engaged in hydrocarbon exploration activities with multiple rigs searching for more oil and gas in Guyanese waters. To this end, the firm handed out more work to Noble’s four drillships, which secured 4.8 additional rig years of backlog, extending each rig’s contract duration to August 2028.

The oil major intends to have six FPSO vessels with a gross production capacity of over 1.2 million barrels of oil per day online on the Stabroek block by the end of 2027. However, the firm has also hinted at the possibility of having up to ten such units active in Guyana’s waters.

The U.S. player is now working to secure the go-ahead for the development of Hammerhead as its seventh deepwater oil project in Guyana. If approved, this will add between 120,000 and 180,000 barrels per day by 2029, raising the country’s overall production capacity bar to nearly 1.5 million bpd.