Guyana's oil output rose 58.2% to 56,320 barrels per day (bpd) in January, up from 35,607 bpd in December, the South American country's finance ministry said in a report published this week.
The government is still working with the consortium producing crude at the Stabroek block off its coast on finalizing the procedures to calculate export prices for the crude, the Thursday report said.
The consortium, which is led by Exxon Mobil Corp and includes Hess Corp and China's CNOOC Ltd, has discovered more than 8 billion barrels of oil off the coast of Guyana, a poor country with no history of oil production. Output at the block began in December, and exports began in January.
Exxon has said the recent plunge in crude oil prices, due to a price war between the world's oil powerhouses and fast-declining crude demand, has had no impact so far on the Stabroek block's flagship Liza project, but that the company would make adjustments as necessary.
Based on a draft of the pricing procedures, the ministry said the government would receive a $1.3 million royalty payment corresponding to January.
Production at Liza is expected to reach some 120,000 bpd in its first phase.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)
