Hess Corporation, a global company devoted to exploring oil, gas, and energy solutions, disclosed yesterday during its third-quarter earnings call that Guyana’s gross discovered recoverable resources have jumped to nine billion barrels, a one billion increase over previous estimates.
In light of this, Hess which holds a 30 percent stake in the Stabroek block said that this is enough to support up to 10 floating producing storage and offloading (FPSOs) vessels.
During his presentation, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Hess was keen to note that the increase in the resource base was based on discoveries announced in September. In this regard, Hess said that its partner and operator of the block, ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), had announced on September 8, last, that significant oil deposits were found at the Redtail and Yellowtail-2 wells, bringing total discoveries on the Stabroek Block to 18. By incorporating the additional volumes from the Redtail, Yellowtail-2, and Uaru (which was announced on January 27) discoveries, the gross reserves were increased accordingly.
In terms of preserving the long-term value of its assets, Hess said that Guyana, with its low cost of supply and industry-leading financial returns, remains a top priority. The CEO said, “We are very pleased that on September 30th, the government of Guyana approved the development plan for the Payara Field, the third oil development on the Stabroek Block, where Hess has a 30% interest and ExxonMobil is the operator.”
He noted that Payara is targeted for first oil in 2024 while adding that the company expects to have at least five FPSOs on the block producing more than 750,000 gross barrels of oil per day by 2026. Guyana Standard understands that the three sanctioned oil developments; Liza One, which is producing, and Liza Two and Payara, which are in construction, have breakeven Brent oil prices of between US$25 and US$35 per barrel, which according to Hess, are world-class by any measure.
