Page 4 - LatAmOil Week 01 2020

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil
ExxonMobil and its partners are using the Liza Destiny FPSO offshore Guyana (Image: ExxonMobil)
Guyana attains oil producer status
The Liza field has come on stream and will see output rise quickly to 120,000 bpd
WHAT:
ExxonMobil and its partners began extracting oil from the offshore Liza field on December 20.
WHY:
The Stabroek project has racked up an early victory and may see production rise to 750,000 bpd within five years.
WHAT NEXT:
Tullow’s Kanuku project does not appear to be headed for a similar success.
LAST year was a momentous one for Guyana. The small South American state, home to less than 1mn people, became an oil producer.
It took this step on December 20, when Exx- onMobil (US) and its partners in the offshore Stabroek block began extracting crude from the first phase of the Liza field. The consortium’s members hailed this development in separate press releases and stated that they expected out- put to rise to full capacity of 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) within just a few months.
David Granger, the president of Guyana, also spoke positively about the group’s accom- plishments. He declared December 20 to be “National Petroleum Day” and talked up his government’s 10-year plan to improve the Guya- nese economy through the creation of jobs in the oil sector and related industries. He also praised ExxonMobil and its partners for achieving first oil three months ahead of schedule.
Fast work
Thepresidentwasnottheonlypartytohighlight the speed of work on the Stabroek project. SBM Offshore, the Dutch firm that built the Liza Des- tiny floating production, storage and off-load- ing (FPSO) vessel that that the group is using to develop the Liza field, expressed satisfaction with its own contributions.
Bruno Chabas, SBM Offshore’s CEO, explained: “Our teams have done an excellent job by completing the project well in line with our client’s schedule. The delivery time from the engineering study phase until first oil, three years, is impressive and a clear testimony of our capabilities and industry-leading experience.”
ExxonMobil, for its part, pointed out that the consortium had made the leap from exploration to production in less than five years following the first discovery of oil at Stabroek. This is “well ahead of the industry average for deepwater developments,” it said in a statement.
Darren Woods, the chairman and CEO of the US giant, struck a similar note: “This historic milestone to start oil production safely and on schedule demonstrates ExxonMobil’s commit- ment to quality and leadership in project exe- cution,” he said. “We are proud of our work with the Guyanese people and government to real- ise our shared long-term vision of responsible resource development that maximises benefits forall.”
Equity in Stabroek is split between subsidiar-
ies of ExxonMobil, the operator, with 45%; Hess
(US), with 30%, and China National Offshore
Oil Corp. (CNOOC), with 25%. The group’s licence covers an area of 26,800 square km in Guyana’s offshore zone. 
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