From a scenario where not a single barrel of oil was produced and exported in previous decades, to coughing up half a billion pumped from the seabed in just five years — this is the story of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) headquarters nation of Guyana, where commercial quantities of oil and gas were discovered offshore back in 2015.
Today, Guyana’s government and industry officials are boasting that the nation of just under 1 million is now easily the largest producer and exporter in the 15-nation bloc, as American supermajor ExxonMobil and partners rush to cash in on the nation’s bounty.
In the past week, Exxon and consortium partners Hess Oil of the U.S. and CNOOC of China announced that they had produced and exported 500 million barrels of sweet, light crude from three oil fields offshore Guyana in just five years since actual production started in December of 2019.
As an indication of how enthralled the consortium is with Guyana and its offshore deposits, the 500 million barrels produced so far have come from three current oil fields in operation, but applications are in for three more with local authorities for development and active operation by 2027. Once approved by regulators, actual daily production will move from the current average of about 650,000 daily to more than 1.3 million by the end of 2027 from six active fields. This is even as the company has signaled plans to go after a seventh in the coming months.
Compared to neighboring Caribbean states, Trinidad is producing around 50,000 barrels daily; Suriname is at 16,000 from a slew of small onshore wells; and Barbados is struggling to remain at under 2,000, also from inland wells. Most of Guyana’s active wells and suspected deposits are located close to the marine border with Suriname which has., in the past three years, discovered large quantities of hydrocarbons as well. Production there is slated for 2028.
The Guyana oil boom has triggered a rush by fellow member nations, especially like Grenada and Jamaica, to also trigger international interest in offshore oil and gas fields. Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell recently announced plans to update the nation of expected exploration activities offshore in the coming weeks, well aware that Grenada neighbors oil-and-gas–rich Trinidad.
In Jamaica, local fishermen have persistently pointed to large oil seeps to authorities. Initially, these were dismissed as cruise ship waste, but further probes appear to have shown that they might have been from the seabed. The result is a concerted effort by the government to encourage global companies to explore for commercial quantities off the south coast.
Exxon has said it is pleased with its progress in Guyana so far. To prove this, the company has rushed to sell off prime assets around the world to concentrate on Guyana, where production costs per barrel is usually under $40, allowing for a hefty profit margin. It has also invested in a huge office campus east of there where it will bed down to exploit much of the offshore basin.
“Our unrivaled success in developing Guyana’s oil resources at an industry-leading pace, cost, and environmental performance is built on close collaboration with the government of Guyana, as well as our co-venturers, suppliers, and contractors,” said ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge. “We remain committed to Guyana for the long term and look forward to continuing delivering for the country.”
Investment to date by the three companies has reached $55 billion, according to official figures released recently.