Exxon, Hess withdraw from Guyana’s Kaieteur Block

ExxonMobil and Hess, two of the three coventurers in the prolific Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, have withdrawn from the Kaieteur Block also located offshore Guyana.

Westmount Energy Limited issued a release on Wednesday highlighting the withdrawal of ExxonMobil and Hess. It noted too that ExxonMobil had decided not to drill a second well in the Kaieteur Block.

ExxonMobil and Hess will return their participating interest to the original Kaieteur Block license holders: Ratio Guyana Limited and Cataleya Energy Limited.

It was also reported that the parties will now seek government approval to reassign the participating interests, so that Ratio Guyana Limited and Cataleya Energy Limited will each retain a 50% participating interest, and appoint Ratio Guyana Limited as the operator of the block.

The current Kaieteur Block participating interests are as follows:

• ExxonMobil Guyana Limited 35% (operator)
• Ratio Guyana Limited 25%
• Cataleya Energy Limited 20%
• Hess Guyana (Block B) Exploration Limited 20%

After reassignment of the participating interests the revised Kaieteur Block interests will be as follows:

• Ratio Guyana Limited 50% (operator)
• Cataleya Energy Limited 50%

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil Guyana issued the following statement on Thursday night:

ExxonMobil Guyana has exited the Kaieteur block offshore Guyana, with participating interest assigned to Ratio Guyana Limited and Cataleya Energy Limited; Ratio is anticipated to assume the role as operator.

Our exploration efforts and discovery of oil in the Kaieteur block have highlighted Guyana’s offshore potential. Our withdrawal from the Kaieteur block has no impact on our commitment to seeking further exploration and development opportunities and to generating additional value for the government and people of Guyana. This includes our accelerated development and production in the Stabroek block, where we are targeting six FPSOs by the end of 2027, bringing Guyana’s production capacity to more than one million barrels per day.