By Neil Marks and Sabrina Valle
HOUSTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp outlined a major new investment in Guyana amid government calls for delivering economic benefits to residents from deepwater oil and gas discoveries helping turn the South American nation into an oil powerhouse.
A coming onshore supply base will expand jobs and boost local fabrication for future projects starting with its fourth production unit, Exxon’s president for Guyana Alistair Routledge said in remarks late Thursday. It will bring total investment in Guyana to $30 billion, he told a Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry gathering.
Guyana is still reviewing needed environmental permits for the production consortium’s future project, called Yellowtail, and officials have called on Exxon and partners to add financial guarantees and local content to win needed approval.
“It is difficult to overestimate the scale of what is taking place,” Routledge said in Georgetown before a group that included Guyana Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. Private sector investment offers “an enormous opportunity to transform the overall economy.”
Exxon is also planning a gas-to-energy project that is could reduce the cost of electricity, according to Routledge.
An Exxon-led consortium with Hess Corp and CNOOC has more than 3,200 Guyanese working on its operations and some 800 local suppliers, he said. The group discovered 10 billion barrels of oil and gas in deep waters off Guyana.
A Hess spokesperson referred questions to Exxon, whose spokesperson Meghan Mcdonalds said Exxon issued a request for information for the shorebase, the second planned in Guyana, and is currently in the process of evaluating the submitted proposals.
Exxon last month said Guyana production could hit 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2026, from 120,000 bpd today. Hess separately put total output at 1 million bpd by 2027.
Most of Exxon’s “entire supply chain for our offshore activities have been relocated to Guyana,” moving “activities from the United States, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago,” Routledge said. (By Sabrina Valle in Houston and Neil Mark, additional reporting by Marianna Parragua.)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021.
Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.
Join the 109,794 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has confirmed competitive interest in two offshore wind areas (WEAs) off the southeast Texas coast, following an unsolicited lease request from Hecate Energy...
W&T Offshore, an independent driller operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, has asked a federal judge to block insurance companies' demands for $250 million in additional collateral for taking apart old oil infrastructure.
Europe is starting to find the limit of a decades-long boom in offshore wind. It can be seen most acutely in the places that have been quickest to build capacity. Countries like Denmark and Sweden are beginning to hit a wall as power prices and incentives drop too low to make building projects worth it. The latest example is a Danish government auction for offshore wind that failed to attract any bids.
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 109,794 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
