First lift of a million barrels of oil to conclude tomorrow

-Bynoe highlights role of regulatory bodies

ExxonMobil Upstream President, Liam Mallon toasts to Guyana’s success (Department of Public Information photo)
ExxonMobil Upstream President, Liam Mallon toasts to Guyana’s success (Department of Public Information photo)

With the first lift of crude oil scheduled to be completed tomorrow offshore, Guyanese authorities are confident that Guyana is in a position to manage the industry.

Speaking at a glitzy cocktail last evening at the Marriott Hotel, Head of the Department of Energy Dr Mark Bynoe underscored that a collaborative effort has been taken to ensure that production runs smoothly. He noted that employees from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards, the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission are presently on the Liza Destiny Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading platform overseeing and documenting the extraction of crude.

On December 21, 2019, Guyana became a producer of petroleum. The historic first draw came less than five years after one of ExxonMobil’s subsidiaries made a major oil find in the Liza-1 well offshore in the sprawling Stabroek Block.

“This historic milestone to start oil production safely and on schedule demonstrates ExxonMobil’s commitment to quality and leadership in project execution,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil Corporation. “We are proud of our work with the Guyanese people and government to realize our shared long-term vision of responsible resource development that maximizes benefits for all,” the company said in a statement hours after the first draw.

The Liza Phase 1 development project features the Liza Destiny FPSO vessel moored 190 kilometers offshore Guyana, and four subsea drill centres supporting 17 wells.

With the completion of the first lift scheduled for tomorrow, the Department of Energy, in partnership with ExxonMobil Guyana and the Stabroek Block partners, last evening hosted the cocktail reception to commemorate Guyana’s first oil.

During the ceremony which saw attendance by partners and players in the petroleum industry as well as government officials, acting Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, boasted of the eleven documents pertaining to policies and law crafted by the GGMC within the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Department of Energy at the Ministry of Presidency and other associated national partners to monitor and regulate the industry.

Ramjattan emphasised that these policies which include the Natural Resources Fund Act, the draft Crude Lifting Policy and Crude Lifting Agreement and the Entailment and Royalty Verification Procedure are important documents of policy and law to support all stakeholders. He noted that these documents will pave the way for the realising and ensuring that the nation receives the best value in the shortest possible time.

The acting Prime Minister further stated that this is a momentous and joyous occasion as the country has finally been able to achieve its potential in becoming an oil producing nation.

He added that this momentous occasion was birthed from “a combination of the genius of Exxon and its partners and the decisiveness of our government that we are here moving forward together.”

“We have long suspected that this country has oil in commercial quantities since the 1750’s, Dutch explorers started the search… We believe that moments like these are rare and ought to be celebrated, it is a time for national pride as well as time for reflection and serious leadership,” Ramjattan said.

Risk

While it is a celebration of the fruits of hard work and determination, President of ExxonMobil’s Upstream Oil and Gas, Liam Mallon, said a lot of risk was taken during the initial stages. He explained during his address that the partners in the exploration, during the drilling phase, had exposed themselves to significant financial risk. Mallon stressed that most partners made the decision to be a part of the project on the basis of the relationship they have among themselves in the industry.

“We had to take risk… This is a risky business, we made the decision to drill two wells, it was significant money on the ground on those bases, many of our partners didn’t know what they were getting into, they went on the basis of our relationships. ExxonMobil, Hess, CNOOC, significantly exposed themselves to make this happen… you people don’t know what is down that well and that is what we bring to the table, Mallon asserted while highlighting that they are elated with the venture.

The oil tanker Yannis P, has arrived in Guyana’s waters and will be loaded over this weekend with the first one million barrels of oil that will be refined by ExxonMobil.

On May 20th 2015, the Liza-1 discovery was announced with the first significant oil find offshore Guyana. During the drilling phase 90 meters of high-quality oil-bearing reservoirs were discovered.

ExxonMobil initiated oil and gas exploration activities in Guyana in 2008, collecting and evaluating substantial 3-D seismic data that led to the company drilling its first exploration well in 2015.