First Crude from ONE Guyana FPSO Set for Export in August-September

ONE Guyana FPSO (Credit: ExxonMobil)

The first crude cargo from Guyana's fourth oil production facility, which arrived in the country in April and is being installed, is set to be exported between late August and early September, the government told Reuters on Tuesday.

A consortium by U.S. companies Exxon Mobil XOM.N and Hess HES.N and China's CNOOC 600938.SS controls all crude and gas output in Guyana. Each party individually exports its share of production, and the government also is entitled to a share as profit oil.

Why It's Important

The floating facility, built by SBM Offshore SBMO.AS and called One Guyana, is expected to begin producing in the coming months, expanding the consortium's output capacity to more than 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), the companies have said.

The first load of Guyana's new crude grade, called "Golden Arrowhead," will be of 1 million barrels, according to three trading sources with knowledge of the offer. The oil is expected to be the country's lightest with 36.5 API degrees of density and 0.25% of sulphur content, according to an assay seen by Reuters, making it easier to refine by non-complex facilities.

Because it will be the first cargo from that platform, it is expected to be sold soon by the three partners, one of the sources said.

One Guyana will produce crude and associated gas at the Exxon group's Yellowtail and Redtail offshore fields.

Reaction

Exxon, which leads the consortium, did not reply to a request for comment. Guyana's government did not provide further details.

Context

Since it started exporting crude in early 2020, the burgeoning oil nation has emerged as the fifth largest Latin American crude exporter after Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia.

Guyana's oil exports rose 54% last year to some 582,000 bpd, fueled by European refiners' demand for easy-to-process sweet crudes, according to shipping data. Output capacity in the country is expected to reach 1.7 million bpd by 2030.

(Reuters - Reporting by Kemol King in Georgetown, Robert Harvey in London and Arathy Somasekhar and Marianna Parraga in Houston; editing by Edward Tobin and Nia Williams)