Despite dire predictions from Peak demand for oilAs the world transitions to a low-carbon economy in the next decade, international energy companies are investing heavily in fossil fuel exploration and production. A region that has surprised the world Attracting considerable attention Guyana-Suriname basin. A world class collection ExxonMobil discoveries Offshore Guyana, there has been considerable interest in the Guyana-Suriname basin, which was largely ignored by energy companies after poor drilling results in the 1960s and 1970s. With recent discoveries estimating recoverable oil resources of more than 11 billion barrels alone in the Stabrook block off the coast of Guyana, the US Geological Survey has grossly underestimated the basin’s undiscovered oil resources. There are signs that the Sedimentary Basin could in fact be the world’s last great offshore oil boom.
In a May 2001 report, USGS estimated The Guyana-Suriname basin has between 2.8 billion and 32.6 billion barrels of undiscovered oil resources, with an average resource of 15.2 billion barrels. The latest oil discoveries, as of 2020, show that this number is much lower than the actual oil potential that exists in the sedimentary basin. Exxon has found at least 11 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil resources in the Stabrook Block off the coast of Guyana, while Block 58 off Suriname is believed to contain 6.5 billion barrels. Oil discoveries in these two blocks alone, out of more than 30 blocks in the Guyana-Suriname basin, are estimated to total more than 18.5 billion barrels, significantly higher than the USGS average of 15.2 billion barrels. particle for direct object The latest discoveries Built since the beginning of 2022 in the Stabrook and Corentine blocks offshore Guyana, as well as blocks 58 and 53 in offshore Suriname, indicate that the volume of recoverable oil resources is significantly higher.
Drilling activity in Guyana, where the national government in Georgetown He implemented very favorable conditions for the Exxon-led consortium operating in the Stabroek offshore block. Exxon, the 45 percent operator with partners Hess holding 30 percent and CNOOC 25 percent, has made more than 30 discoveries globally in the block and is fast-tracking its development. Aside from the Stabrook block, which is estimated to contain more than 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources, Exxon’s Lisa field, which analysts describe as the last big frontier oil play, pumps 360,000 barrels per day, well above the The capacity is 340,000 barrels.
Exxon is developing additional assets in the Stabrook Block, notably the Payara and Yellowtail discoveries, which will add 470,000 barrels of capacity to the Stabrook Block when operations begin in 2023 and 2025, respectively. By 2025, Exxon will be pumping at least 800,000 barrels per day off the coast of Guyana. It is likely that production from the Stabrook block will continue to grow after 2030. In October 2022, Exxon announced the Sailfin-1 and Yarrow-1 discoveries. blocks and continues to advance its drilling campaign. Exxon continues to drill offshore Guyana with a focus on the prolific Stabrook block, where the supermajor is targeting completion of 25 wells by the end of June 2023, followed by a 35-well campaign to be launched during the current plan. is completed There have been discoveries outside the Stabroek block. One of the most recent is the Kawa-1 exploration well by CGX Energy and partner Frontera Energy in the northern part of the Corentyne block, adjacent to Stabroek. This section of the Corentine is believed to lie above the same oil path that runs from the Stabroek Block to Suriname Block 58.
For these reasons, analysts predict Production will arrive in Guyana 1.2 million barrels per day by 2027, overtaking the impoverished former British colony of Colombia to become the third largest oil producer in Latin America and the Caribbean. Guyana’s oil production is predicted by industry consultants Stop energy to reach 1.7 million barrels per day by 2035, with the small South American country surpassing US offshore production to become the world’s fourth largest offshore oil producer. It will be an ongoing investment by major energy companies in the South American country with a population of around 800,000 that will drive this rapid growth. One of the latest companies to enter the fray in Guyana is British global energy giant BP, which in November 2022 contract winner To market Guyana’s share of the oil produced from the Stabrook block produced from the Lisa Destiny and Unity platforms in the Lisa oil field.
Despite the tremendous success of the Exxon-led consortium, offshore Guyana has not been shipping. CGX, which is 77% owned by Frontera and block operator Corentyne had to delay the excavation The Wei-1 well was targeted 2.5 miles northwest of Kawa-1. This happened because a third party did not release the drilling unit. CGX and Frontera are committed to drilling the well, which the companies say is expected to be drilled before the end of January 2023. The partners have confirmed with the Guyanese government that the block permit is not affected and remains in effect. In August Tullow Oil, which has a 37.5% non-operating interest in the Kanuku block., He announced that he was leaving Operation in the Beebei-Potaro well in the block after hitting water-bearing targets. Repsol, the operator and owner of a 37.5 percent stake in the Canoco block, and the remaining 25 percent held by a joint venture between Total Energy and Qatar Petroleum, have blocked and abandoned the well.
An extremely positive development for Guyana’s growing offshore oil boom is the Georgetown developments. Notice of December 9, 2022 It had launched the first round of licensing for offshore oil exploration and production. The bidding round is a combination of 14 shallow and deep blocks for bidding, with submissions closing on April 14, 2023, and contracts expected to be awarded on May 31, 2023. There is a minimum signature requirement of $10 million for shallow and shallow water blocks. $20 million for deepwater blocks. While the terms of the contracts awarded to successful bidders will not be as favorable as the deal secured by the Exxon-led consortium for the Stabrook block, they will still be on favorable terms.
Guyana is one of the lowest-cost jurisdictions in Latin America for energy companies to operate, and even globally. The Exxon-led consortium claims the 120,000 bpd Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel is pumping oil with a Amazing price $35/bbl This has been reduced to $25/bbl for the second FPSO, the 220,000 bpd Liza Unity, which came online in February 2022. Exxon recently announced that both FPSOs are operating above capacity, see the Liza oil field pumping 360,000 bpd. The energy major continues to develop the Stabrook block at a rapid clip and expects production to reach 1 million barrels per day by 2030. Overall, Guyana offshore oil prices are estimated to average $30 to $35 per Brent barrel, with further declines. Because additional industry infrastructure is coming online.
The light and medium oil grades available in Guyana have a relatively low carbon cost to extract and refine, especially compared to the heavier sour grades commonly found in South America, which increases the country’s competitiveness. These features make Guyana’s offshore investment more attractive and are the reason why the former British colony is attracting significant investment from international oil companies. For these reasons, the inaugural Georgetown oil auction will attract considerable attention, especially given that Guyana has topped the leaderboard for producing the most oil discovered globally since 2015. In fact, apart from the prolific Stabrook block where Exxon’s world-class discovery portfolio resides. It yielded 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources, with another 25 billion barrels believed to be waiting to be discovered. With Rystad forecasting Guyana to produce 1.7 million barrels of oil per day by 2035, the deeply impoverished South American nation will emerge as one of the world’s top five elite producers.
By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com
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