Page 11 - LatAmOil Week 50 2021

LatAmOil GUYANA LatAmOil

“On a corporate level, ExxonMobil announced projects could bring Stabroek’s total production
our low-carbon solutions business to commer- up to 800,000 bpd by 2026.
cialise our extensive low-carbon technology Guyanese officials believe this intended
portfolio,” he was quoted as saying by Argus ramp-up in production makes the study all the
Media. more necessary in order to prevent a similar rise
ExxonMobil Guyana has been extracting in emissions and gas flaring. They also see CCS
crude oil from the Liza-1 section of the Stabroek as a necessity ahead of the construction of the
block since December 2019, and the field is now country’s first oil refinery. Natural Resources
yielding about 120,000 barrels per day. Minister Vickram Bharrat told Argus Media last
Output levels are slated to rise by another week that Georgetown was considering propos-
220,000 bpd after the Liza-2 field comes on als for building a crude-processing plant but was
stream early next year, and other development not in a rush to launch the project. ™

SURINAME
Former Staatsolie chief talks up gas

potential of Guyana-Suriname basin

RUDOLF Elias, the former CEO of Suriname’s
state-owned oil company Staatsolie, talked up
the gas-bearing potential of the Guyana-Suri-
name basin at an industry event last week.
Speaking during an Americas Market Intelli-
gence (AMI) panel on December 9, Elias noted
that the oilfields within the Stabroek block off-
shore Guyana were already known to contain
large amounts of associated gas.
Several of these fields are anticipated to
deliver gas to the domestic market in the near
future, he commented during the panel discus-
sion, which was entitled “Guyana & Suriname:
Developing a Low-Carbon Strategy in Emerg-
ing Oil Markets.”
Stabroek, which is located nearly 200 km off
the coast of Guyana, is currently the only pro-
ducing field in the Guyana-Suriname basin. It
is significantly larger than the licence areas that
Paramaribo has awarded to international oil
companies (IOCs), Elias noted, but the deep- Elias says Suriname’s offshore fields are also likely to contain gas (Image: IADC)
water sections of Suriname’s offshore zone have
all of the characteristics necessary in order to He also expressed his belief that Guyana and
become an operational oilfield off Suriname’s Suriname had more to offer in the future in com-
coast. parison to regions such as the North Sea and the
The former Staatsolie boss went on to Gulf of Mexico.
express his confidence in the drilling campaigns Elias did not say whether Suriname had
that IOCs such as Shell (UK), TotalEnergies drawn up any concrete plans for the devel-
(France), Apache (US) and Petronas (Malaysia) opment of associated or natural gas reserves.
are set to undertake offshore Suriname. These Guyanese authorities are already working with
companies’ drilling campaigns are anticipated to ExxonMobil on a project that will see associated
yield additional oil reserves, and these will bring gas from the Liza-1 and -2 fields piped ashore
about a host of economic benefits for Suriname, for use as fuel for a thermal power plant (TPP)
he said. and as feedstock for gas-based petrochemical
He also stated, though, that the drilling pro- production.
jects would lead to large gas finds. This will be Some industry observers have urged Par-
a positive development, since the extraction amaribo to work with Georgetown to expand
and use of associated gas reserves will help this project into a broader initiative that would
ensure supplies of cheap energy and create new deliver electricity to both countries and perhaps
employment opportunities, he said. Brazil as well. ™

Week 50 16•December•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11