(Kaieteur News) – Originally designed to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), the Yellowtail project, Guyana’s fourth deepwater development is now producing approximately 270,000 barrels daily.
This is according to data published on the Ministry of Natural Resources website which was last updated in July. The website, intended to provide Guyanese with oversight on “daily production” figures is often updated at least two months after the end of a month. For instance, the ministry has not yet made data available for the month of August even though September is nearing its end.
Oil production data on the Ministry of Natural Resources website
The delayed updating of the website has frequently been raised with policymakers as well as the format in which the data is presented which makes it less than user-friendly for an average citizen.
According to the information reviewed by this publication, the Yellowtail project gradually increased its daily production from about 260,000 bpd in June to 10,000 additional barrels daily in July. At current oil prices of about US$90, this translates to US$900M more daily for the country and the Stabroek Block partners.
Since March, President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), Alistair Routledge disclosed plans to the media to ramp up production at Yellowtail, from 263,000 bpd to 290,000 bpd.
The company said it has completed a number of studies analysing the operation of the facilities for existing bottlenecks while safety analysis was conducted on the production facilities to minimise or reduce bottlenecks to increase production. Any increase to the daily production levels will be done in a phased manner for safety purposes according to the Country Manager.
It is unclear whether Exxon received approval by government to push production to its intended 290,000 bpd. The Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat did not respond to questions on the matter up to the time of this report. To date, ExxonMobil has conducted debottlenecking activities on the other three Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs) in the Stabroek Block.
Payara, Exxon’s third project which commenced production on 14th November, 2023, was designed to produce 220,000 (bpd) but Exxon has increased production to over 260,000 bpd.
Similarly, both Liza One and Liza Two were pushed beyond the initial nameplate capacity. The Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for the two projects indicate that the Liza One and Liza Two projects were designed to safely operate at 120,000 and 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), respectively. Data on the Ministry of Natural Resources website indicates that Liza Two project is now producing about 250,000 bpd while Liza One is operating at just over 100,000 bpd after peaking at 160,000 bpd previously.
Stakeholders have often raised concern over the increased production activities being conducted by the operator, touting the increased risk of an oil spill as a result.
Source: Kaieteur News
