Following several delays since 2019, if the Payara development is approved by the end of September, this will ensure that the 2023 timeline for oil production start-up remains on track while adding another 220,000 barrels of oil per day to Guyana’s output.
John Hess, CEO of Hess corporation – Photo Credit: (OilNow)
Officials at Hess Corporation, a 30 percent stakeholder in the prolific Stabroek block, say they remain optimistic that the new government will soon approve the long-delayed project.
Speaking at the Barclays, CEO Energy-Power Conference in New York on Wednesday, Greg Hill, President and Chief Operating Officer of Hess Corporation, said based on the assurances from both the previous and current administration, the Stabroek consortium has been putting the necessary framework in place to move forward once there is approval immediately.
“… there are three open-water campaigns on Payara. It’s got a very extensive subsea architecture to it. So, you need three weather windows to get a lot of that work done.”
He also pointed out that this development’s approval in the coming weeks would put the project “fully back on track.” The Payara development was initially expected to be sanctioned last year but encountered government approval challenges for several months, which was also compounded with the elections that were held earlier in the year.
The new administration, which took up office early last month, has been conducting a review of the work that was done by the previous government on the project, prior to approving.
“Where we had talked before about Payara potentially having a six to twelve-month delay, if we get that approval before the end of September, that delay will no longer hold, and we’ll look at first oil coming out in 2023 as we originally said,” John Hess, CEO of Hess Corporation, posited.
Guyana’s Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat, said this week that the Payara development is part of a series of offshore activities that will help fuel the government’s long-term growth plans.
Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had also weighed his voice stating that while all efforts are being made to ensure the government’s concerns are addressed before approving the project, the intent is not to stall investments.
Payara will follow the Liza Phase 1 and 2 developments at the ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block, where production is expected to surpass the one million barrels per day mark by the end of the decade, according to analysts.
[Extracted and Modified from OilNow]
