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By Kemol King
GEORGETOWN (Reuters) - A consortium led by Exxon Mobil has requested environmental permits from Guyana for its eighth project, the first that will generate gas not linked to oil production, and to explore another well at its massive offshore block, the head of the U.S. oil major in Guyana said on Wednesday.
Exxon plans to boost output capacity this year to 940,000 barrels per day (bpd) versus the 616,000 bpd it produced in 2024 after upgrades at two of its three floating oil facilities and the arrival of a fourth vessel, Alistair Routledge, president of Exxon Guyana, said at a press conference.
The consortium, which includes Hess and CNOOC, is responsible for all production in Guyana. It aims to lift production capacity to more than 1.7 million bpd by the end of 2029 once its first seven offshore projects are online, Routledge said.
In 2030, the eighth project, Longtail, is expected to add up to 250,000 barrels per day of crude output capacity and 1 billion cubic feet per day of gas production, he added.
Guyana has been pressing Exxon to produce and deliver more natural gas, part of the government's strategy to rely on the fuel for power generation, to industrialize the country and begin petrochemical and liquefied natural gas (LNG) businesses that can expand revenue.
The consortium recently completed a long-awaited appraisal of its gas resources, which will allow a more accurate calculation of total resources available for output, said Routledge.
"All of that data is now being put back into the geologic models, reservoir models, in order to inform us of what sort of upstream development might be possible," he said.
The study could help integrate Exxon's efforts with a large development awarded by Guyana to Fulcrum LNG last year, aimed at designing and building the country's first LNG project.
Routledge said Exxon has not had recent conversations with the company.
Guyana's economy achieved its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2024, expanding 43.6%, driven by crude production. Oil output rose 58% from 391,000 bpd in 2024.
PROJECTS IN A ROW
The Exxon group's fourth project, Yellowtail, is on track to start up soon upon arrival of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility from Singapore, built by SBM Offshore, the company said.
Exxon expects to start pumping oil from its fifth, sixth and seventh projects - Uaru, Whiptail and Hammerhead- between 2026 and 2029.
"This year, we'll actually be undergoing installation activities, which have started for Uaru. We'll be doing some for Whiptail, as well as completing the work on the Yellowtail project," Routledge said.
(This story has been refiled to correct the spelling of 'Uaru' in paragraphs 12 and 13)
(Reporting by Kemol King, writing by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Peter Henderson, Bill Berkrot and Marguerita Choy)
