Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) today announced an increase in the gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana to approximately 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent, up from the previous estimate of more than 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The updated resource estimate includes three new discoveries on the block at Barreleye, Lukanani and Patwa in addition to the Fangtooth and Lau Lau discoveries announced earlier this year.
The Barreleye-1 well encountered approximately 230 feet (70 meters) of hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoirs of which approximately 52 feet (16 meters) is high quality oil bearing. The well was drilled in 3,840 feet (1,170 meters) of water and is located approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of the Liza Field.
The Lukanani-1 well encountered 115 feet (35 meters) of hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoirs of which approximately 76 feet (23 meters) is high quality oil bearing. The well was drilled in water depth of 4,068 feet (1,240 meters) and is located in the southeastern part of the block, approximately 2 miles (3 kilometers) west of the Pluma discovery.
The Patwa-1 well encountered 108 feet (33 meters) of hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoirs. The well was drilled in 6,315 feet (1,925 meters) of water and is located approximately 3 miles (5 kilometers) northwest of the Cataback-1 discovery.
CEO John Hess said: “These new discoveries further demonstrate the extraordinary resource density of the Stabroek Block and will underpin our queue of future development opportunities. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government of Guyana and our partners to realize the remarkable potential of this world class resource for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Hess and its co-venture partners currently have four sanctioned developments on the Stabroek Block. The Liza Phase 1 development, which began production in December 2019 utilizing the Liza Destiny floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) with a production capacity of approximately 120,000 gross barrels of oil per day, recently completed production optimization work that expanded its production capacity to more than 140,000 gross barrels of oil per day. It is currently producing approximately 130,000 gross barrels of oil per day and is expected to reach its full capacity in the second quarter.
The Liza Phase 2 development, utilizing the Liza Unity FPSO, began production in February 2022 and is expected to reach its production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day by the third quarter. The third development at Payara is ahead of schedule and now expected to come online in late 2023 utilizing the Prosperity FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day. The fourth development, Yellowtail, is expected to come online in 2025, utilizing the ONE GUYANA FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 250,000 gross barrels of oil per day.
At least six FPSOs with a production capacity of more than 1 million gross barrels of oil per day are expected to be online on the Stabroek Block in 2027, with the potential for up to 10 FPSOs to develop gross discovered recoverable resources.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres. ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45% interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.
