Guyana producing at least 640,000 barrels of oil daily

At least 640,000 barrels of oil are being produced in the prolific Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, which, according to ExxonMobil Guyana Limited’s new Production Manager Huzefa Ali, is a substantial increase from earlier projections.

Ali, during a press conference at the company’s Kingston, Georgetown office, said roughly 645,000 barrels of oil are being produced daily across the three local projects: Liza I, Liza II and Payara.

This figure was further disaggregated.

At the Liza I project, about 160,000 barrels of oil are being produced daily by the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. At the Liza II project, some 250,000 barrels of oil are being produced by the Liza Unity FPSO.

And at the Payara project, where the Prosperity FPSO is, about 230,000 barrels of oil are already being produced daily. Altogether that equates to about 640,000 barrels of oil, though these are approximate figures.

So how is it possible that the company is producing more oil than it expected to?

Well, ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge explained that the increased production was made possible through a process of debottlenecking.

Debottlenecking refers to the process of pinpointing specific areas where the equipment’s configuration can be modified to increase production.

“What we are able to do in a very logical, careful sequence basis… is find spare capacity, de-bottleneck and safely increase oil production.

“That’s what we have been methodically doing. It is very carefully done, maximising the value,” Routledge said.

Meanwhile, there is expected to be some downtime at the Liza I project at the end of this year so that the gas pipeline bringing natural gas from that area to Wales, West Bank Demerara, can be connected to the onshore facilities.

The slowdown in production has already been included in the company’s forecasts for the year.