‘No other country has allowed Exxon to move this fast’ – Exxon Official
Kaieteur News – Phillip Rietema, Vice President and Business Services Manager at ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) on Wednesday told the International Business Conference (IBC) that he thinks that the company’s Guyana operation is the only one they have been able to move quickly from discovery to production.
Phillip Rietema, Vice President and Business Services Manager at ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL)
“We have six sanctioned projects, just (to) put it in context. I don’t think there’s anywhere in the world where we’ve been able to go so quickly from discovery to production to now six sanctioned projects,” Rietema told the gathering at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown.
He noted that Exxon has been in Guyana for 25 years, with five years of production starting in December 2019.
Since making its first discovery in 2015, he underscored that Exxon has transitioned from exploration to production in record time.
Currently, Exxon is producing over 650,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from Liza 1, Liza 2 and Payara developments which are supported by three floating production storage and offloading (FPSOs) namely, Destiny, Unity and Prosperity.
Rietema also noted that the company has three more projects to come online in the coming years.
“These are renderings of the third, the fourth, fifth and sixth FPSOs for those projects that are scheduled to come online in 2025 and then two in 2027,” Exxon official said.
He continued, “If you’ve been reading the news here in Guyana, we’ve also announced that we’re planning for a seventh project on the Hammerhead discovery.”
Moreover, Rietema underscored that Exxon and the Government of Guyana’s shared commitments is what contributed to the company’s success here.
“We’re committed to the long term. They’re committed to the long term. We have a shared vision of efficiently developing Guyana’s resource endowment and as I said, I’ll share today how that’s going and how it’s already bearing fruit. Will bear more fruit,” Rietema stated.
EMGL is the operator of the Stabroek Block and holds a 45% interest. Its partners Hess and CNOOC holds 30% and 25% respectively.
The companies operate under the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed by the previous coalition government. That agreement waives all taxes for the oil companies, requiring the government to pay Exxon and its partners’ taxes from Guyana’s share of oil profits.
The deal allows the companies to recover 75% of their investments before splitting the remaining 25%, with Guyana receiving just 12.5%. Guyana also receives a 2% royalty on its resources.
