ExxonMobil is looking to make a final investment decision on its Liza discovery offshore Guyana this year, with first oil expected by 2020, less than five years since its discovery.
In an investor presentation yesterday (1 March), the firm's CEO Darren Woods said a Phase 1 development at Liza, on which front-end engineering and design is underway, would see a floating production project, producing 100,000-120,000 b/d, at US$40/bbl costs. That could rise to 300,000 b/d with a second phase development, which would involve a second floating production, storage and offloading vessel. Produced gas will be initially be re-injected.
Woods also said Guyana has significant remaining exploration potential, with multi-billion unrisked barrels in the Stabroek block, contained Liza, and a second discovery, Payara, alone, as well as multiple plays to test.
In addition to Stabroek, Exxon gained the Kaieteur block in February. Together with the Starbroek and Canje blocks, Kaieteur takes Exxon's acreage offshore Guyana to 11.4 million acres, says Woods. Exxon says it has 3D seismic acquisition planned on Kaieteur later this year.
Woods said ExxonMobil's next appraisal well on Liza will be the Liza-4 appraisal well, assessing the field's East Flank. This could increase Liza estimates to a 1.4 billion boe high side.
Meanwhile, Woods says Exxon is set to appraise the Payara discovery, a similar discovery to Liza. The Payara-2 appraisal well is expected later this year following the completion of the Snoek exploration prospect well, which started late February, and is also similar to Payara and Liza and in the same block.
Together, Payara, 10mi northwest of Liza, and Liza contain between 1.4-2 billion bbl, says Woods. If the Payara appraisal is successful, this would also be fast-tracked like Liza, said Woods.
Further exploration wells are planned for Guyana during the rest of the year, including a prospect beneath Payara.
"We're very excited about future potential in Guyana," said Woods.
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