The first quarter of 2022 was notable for its offshore activity in Guyana. ExxonMobil Guyana received approval for its Yellowtail Project from the EPA. SBM Offshore was contracted to provide, “Yellowtail One Guyana”, the FPSO vessel that will be utilised for the project expected to begin in 2025.

One Guyana’s vessel specifications are said to be the same as her sister vessels, Liza Unity and Liza Prosperity, with storage capacity of two million b.o.e and production capacity of 220,000 b.o.e of oil per day. With rising pressure on the oil and gas supply chain, global markets should welcome the potential expansion of oil production in Guyana.

CGX, Repsol and Tullow, operators of other offshore blocks, have also announced drilling campaigns for 2022. CGX hit high-quality crude in their Kawa-1 well in the Corentyne Block, however, it has subsequently plugged the well. CGX instead intends to focus on further exploration of the Corentyne Block citing the Wei Wei-1 well for drilling in the latter half of the year. Repsol also intends to spud the Beebei-Potaro well in Kanuku Block around the same time and has identified Noble Drilling for exploratory drilling services.

With an uptake in economic activity in Guyana, interest in Guyana’s Gas to Energy project continues to grow. The Gas to Energy project will make use of a 135-mile pipeline that will utilise gas from the Liza-1 and Liza-2 wells to sustain an electricity powerplant established in Wales on the West Coast of the Demerara.