A consortium led by Exxon Mobil that controls all oil and gas output in Guyana produced 668,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil last week, the U.S. company's head for the South American country, Alistair Routledge, said during a conference on Tuesday.
The group is working to install its output facility after receiving it in Guyana's waters in February. In March, the companies produced 627,000 bpd, and the 631,000 bpd average achieved in the first quarter was 3% higher year-on-year, from the country's energy ministry showed last month.
The Exxon consortium, which has six oil projects fully approved for developing its massive Stabroek offshore block, will expand output capacity to over 900,000 bpd later this year after the fourth facility is plugged, increasing revenue and royalty payments to the government.
Guyana is pressing the Exxon group to produce and deliver more natural gas in coming years.
A $1-billion pipeline that will transport gas from one of its offshore fields onto land for power generation will initially transport at least 50 million cubic feet per day, Routledge said, while speaking onstage at the ƶijϻ Technology Conference in Houston.
In an interview on the sidelines of the conference, Routledge said Exxon has been updating the government on its exploration and appraisal activities, but that the company does not expect to have a single number representing gas discovered and confirmed at Stabroek until it begins developing the gas-focused projects that are in planning.
"The fact of the matter is, we won't know the answer until we move forward with the developments," he said.
"We've done a lot of exploring and appraisal work, but we've only started up three out of six projects ... we're talking about years before we know what the right numbers are."
While speaking onstage at the conference, Routledge said technology and artificial intelligence are helping Exxon drill wells faster and more efficiently, cutting the time it takes to drill a well from around 60 days to under 35 days.
There are no short-term impacts to Exxon's Guyana operations amid lower crude prices following U.S. President Donald Trump's global announcements and the decision by to increase output, he said, but added that it has affected near-term investment decisions.
(Reuters)