ExxonMobil Consortium's Oil Output Marks Rise in Guyana

(Credit: ExxonMobil)

Oil production by a consortium led by Exxon Mobil in Guyana rose to 770,000 barrels per day (bpd) following the start-up of the group's fourth floating output facility, the company's chief for the South American country said on Monday.

Average production by The Exxon group, which controls all crude and gas production in Guyana, was 685,000 bpd in August and 740,000 bpd in September, according to data from the government and the consortium. The Guyana operation is one of the most important in the U.S. energy major's portfolio, and it has grown offshore output and exports rapidly since it inaugurated crude production in 2019. It hopes to surpass 900,000 bpd of output capacity once the fourth facility is fully operational.

Exxon expects to start up its fifth and sixth projects, Uaru and Whiptail, which already received government approval, in 2026 and 2027, respectively, the company's Guyana chief, Alistair Routledge, told reporters in a press conference.

The major also is focused on completing an environmental impact assessment for the development of its eighth project there, Longtail, hoping to have the necessary permits approved by the end of next year for a 2030 start-up.

Longtail will be the consortium's first project to produce non-associated natural gas and the largest gas handling facility in Guyana, Routledge added.

The consortium's seventh project, Hammerhead, is being targeted for startup in 2029, so 2028 would be the only year the group will not inaugurate a new project. However, oil and gas production is expected to increase every year, the company has said.

(Reuters - Reporting by Kemol King; Writing by Marianna Parraga; Editing by David Gregorio)