ExxonMobil achieves highest oil production in decades with record growth in Guyana

Aug 04, 2024 News

Kaieteur News – As oil production in Guyana continues to grow, profits for oil major, ExxonMobil has reached new records. The company in its second quarter earnings call told shareholders that it recorded its highest oil production since the merger between Exxon and Mobil in 1998.

CEO, ExxonMobil Corporation, Darren Woods

According to the report, “Net production in the second quarter was 4.4 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, an increase of 15%, or 574,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day compared to the prior quarter due to advantaged volume growth from Pioneer, Guyana and heritage Permian.”

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Darren Woods said, “We achieved record quarterly production from our low-cost-of-supply Permian and Guyana assets, with the highest oil production since the Exxon and Mobil merger.”

Stemming from the successful production figures in the second quarter of 2024, Exxon also achieved a record in high-value product sales, growing by 10% versus the first half of last year.

This meant that profits for the company also increased over the period. To this end, Woods explained, “We delivered our second-highest 2Q (second quarter) earnings of the past decade as we continue to improve the fundamental earnings power of the company.”

Exxon also updated its shareholders that during the second quarter of 2024, the company submitted an application to Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seeking approval for its seventh proposed development in the oil rich Stabroek Block, Hammerhead. “Production capacity is expected to be 120,000 to 180,000 barrels per day, with anticipated start-up in 2029, pending Guyanese government approval,” the company added.

On August 2, Exxon revealed its second quarter earnings, describing its performance as industry-leading with US$9.2B in profits recorded.

This record growth was mainly driven by the increased oil production in Guyana. ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), the operator of the Stabroek Block added a third project to its portfolio of successful deepwater developments in November last year. This project, the Payara development, reached its peak production early this year, adding over 220,000 barrels of oil per day. This is in addition to the oil being produced at the Liza One and Liza Two projects in the Stabroek Block producing an average 160,000 bpd and 250,000 bpd respectively. Both projects have exceeded nameplate capacity, producing above the safe operating limits of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels. The Payara project too has exceeded its initial design capacity of 220,000 bpd, now producing between 230,000 to 240,000 bpd, according to recent data published by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

• earnings, Exxon, Growth, Guyana, oil, production