Page 11 - LatAmOil Annual Review 2021

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The company did not provide any specific infor- export cargo, which became the second to leave
mation on output rates, saying only that it had port since the beginning of the year on April 13.
“reduced production to a minimum level that “[This] occurrence has not affected [the govern-
mitigates formation of hydrates in subsea sys- ment of Guyana’s] crude oil lift, which was safely
tems, maintains gas injection and fuel gas to the and successfully completed [on Tuesday] at the
power generators and minimises flare.” How- planned quantity and in keeping with the crude
ever, OilNOW.gy noted on April 14 that Liza-1 lifting agreement and lifting schedule,” it said.
was now yielding 30,000 bpd of oil, down from The ministry also stressed, though, that it
120,000 bpd. was paying close attention to conditions at Liza-
The company went on to say it had informed 1, especially with respect to production and the
the Guyanese government of its troubles and volume of gas being flared. “Presently, the FGC
expressed dissatisfaction with the performance remains offline, and production and flaring vol-
of the Liza Destiny. “ExxonMobil Guyana is umes are being closely monitored,” it said.
extremely disappointed by the design issues and It also declared that it would “continue to ExxonMobil has
continued underperformance of this unit and monitor the levels of daily crude oil output and
will be working with the equipment manufac- flaring to best allow for an economically feasible reportedly cut
turer MAN Energy Solutions and the vessel’s level of production during this period.” In the oil production
operator SBM to rectify the situation. This per- meantime, it said, ExxonMobil Guyana has been
formance is below ExxonMobil’s global expecta- updating government agencies – including the at Liza-1 from
tions for reliability,” it commented. Ministry of Natural Resources, the Environ-
It did not say when it might be able to resume mental Protection Agency (EPA) and Geology 120,000 bpd to
production or repair the discharge silencer. and Mines Commission – regularly about con-
ditions at Liza-1. 30,000 bpd
Government response
Guyana’s government has expressed displeasure Long-term forecasts
at the latest turn of events, with high-ranking Despite these expressions of concern, George-
officials noting that the latest interruptions in town still appears to be optimistic about its long-
production might have negative consequences. term prospects.
For example, Natural Resources Minis- On April 13, Bharrat was quoted by Argus
ter Vickram Bharrat noted on April 14 that Media as saying that he believed Guyana might
Georgetown might have to revise plans for its be extracting as much as 1mn bpd of crude by
next shipment of crude from Liza-1 because of 2027. “By 2027, we are hoping that there will be
the equipment problems on the FPSO. He told at least seven floating production, storage and
OilNOW.gy that while the government’s sixth off-loading vessels in the country and that we
export cargo had included a standard volume will be producing either close [to] or even [more
of oil, or about 1mn barrels, the seventh cargo than] 1mn bpd,” he said.
might be smaller, reflecting the most recent Most of these projected volumes would be
decline in output at Liza-1. coming from fields operated by ExxonMobil.
The next day, the Ministry of Natural Jayme Meier, the company’s vice-president for
Resources said in a statement that it was “highly deepwater project delivery, said last December
disappointed with the operator’s inability to that the super-major hoped to be operating five
resolve this situation to date.” It also hinted that it FPSOs and producing 750,000 bpd in Guyana
was ready to take some type of action against the by 2026.
company. Government officials are “currently ExxonMobil Guyana is developing Stabroek
examining the implications of the loss of out- in co-operation with Hess, a US-based inde-
put, and consequent loss of income and revenue, pendent, and a state-owned Chinese firm,
including measures that it may have to institute China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC).
to protect [the] national interest,” it said. The partners have discovered no less than 18
The statement further noted that the prob- oilfields at the block, which is estimated to con-
lems with the discharge silencer had not had any tain around 9bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in
effect on the handling of the government’s sixth recoverable reserves. ™

(Image: ExxonMobil)

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