Exxon Mobil Corp has unveiled a major new investment in Guyana amid government calls for residents to reap economic benefits from deepwater oil and gas discoveries that will help turn the South American nation into an oil powerhouse.
Exxon’s president for Guyana, Alistair Routledge, said late Thursday that an onshore supply base will expand jobs and boost local manufacturing for future projects, starting with its fourth production unit. Total investment in Guyana will amount to $30 billion, he told a meeting of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Guyana is still reviewing the environmental permits needed for the production consortium’s future project, called Yellowtail, and officials have asked Exxon and its partners to add financial guarantees and local content to get the necessary approval.
“It’s hard to overestimate the scale of what’s happening,” Routledge said in Georgetown before a group that included Guyana’s vice president, Bharrat Jagdeo. Private sector investment offers “a huge opportunity to transform the broader economy.”
According to Routledge, Exxon is also planning a gas-to-power project that could reduce the cost of electricity.
An Exxon-led consortium with Hess Corp and CNOOC has more than 3,200 Guyanese working in its operations and about 800 local suppliers, he said. The group has discovered 10 billion barrels of oil and gas in Guyana’s deep waters.
Spokesperson Meghan Mcdonalds said Exxon issued a request for information for the onshore base, the second planned in Guyana, and is currently evaluating the proposals submitted.
Last month, Exxon said Guyana’s production could reach 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2026, up from 120,000 bpd currently. Hess, meanwhile, put total production at 1 million bpd by 2027.
Most of Exxon’s “supply chain for our offshore activities has moved to Guyana,” displacing “activities in the United States, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago,” Routledge said.
