Exxon looks to add to Guyana exploration program
ExxonMobil Corp., Houston, is looking to add to its Guyana success story by applying to drill 35 exploration wells in four prospect areas of the Stabroek block.
If approved by Guyana regulators, ExxonMobil plans to start drilling the wells in 2028 and conclude in 2033, several media outlets reported this week. The proposed exploration and appraisal work would be about 120 miles offshore and, if successful, extend the company’s runway in Guyana beyond the four floating production, storage and offloading vessels it has online now and the four more scheduled to enter operations by 2030.
The assets online now produced more than 900,000 b/d in the first quarter while the planned additions will grow that figure to roughly 1.7 million b/d in the coming years. Speaking at the Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference last month, senior vice-president Neil Chapman called Exxon’s successes in Guyana, where it launched exploration activities in 2008, “extraordinary” and added that there’s very likely much more to come.
“Not only has it been successful, there remains a lot of potential,” Chapman said. “I think a lot of people are aware that 30% of the block is under force majeure because there’s a border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana. We anticipate, and I think the world anticipates, that will get resolved here in the next 12 months. And we’ll go on the lead of the Guyanese government [as to] what we want to do with that.”
Chapman also told the Bernstein audience that ExxonMobil is taking a broader view of potential growth offshore the northern coast of South America and pointed to a position the company has taken offshore Trinidad.
“I think this is pretty telling and I think most people can understand what we’re doing here,” he said. “We see this geological play going up through Guyana and potentially going into Trinidad and we’ve secured all of that, which offers us potential exploration.”
Shares of ExxonMobil (Ticker: XOM) were changing hands around $136.70 in midday trading June 18, down nearly 3% on the day. Year to date, they have risen about 13%, which has grown the company’s market capitalization to more than $565 billion.
About the Author
Geert De Lombaerde
Senior Editor
A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has more than two decades of business journalism experience and writes about markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications Healthcare Innovation, IndustryWeek, FleetOwner, Oil & Gas Journal and T&D World. With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati and later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal. Most recently, he oversaw the online and print products of the Nashville Post and reported primarily on Middle Tennessee’s finance sector as well as many of its publicly traded companies.