ExxonMobil has struck another oil discovery offshore Guyana and has raised its estimate for recoverable resource base in Guyana to more than 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent. This is a 2 billion barrel increase compared to the previous estimate.

The company on Monday announced an oil discovery - its 16th at the Stabroek Block. The discovery was made at the Uaru exploration well, northeast of the Liza oil field which was put in production in December 2019 via the Liza Destiny FPSO.

Uaru encountered approximately 94 feet (29 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. The well, drilled in 6,342 feet (1,933 meters) of water, is located approximately 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of the Liza field, which began producing oil in December 2019.

The new recoverable resource estimate includes 15 discoveries offshore Guyana through year-end 2019. The Uaru discovery is the first of 2020 and will be added to the resource estimate at a later date, ExxonMobil said.

“With recent high-quality finds at Tripletail and Mako contributing to our recoverable resources, our investments will continue to provide benefits for the people of Guyana,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil. “The Uaru discovery is another positive step as we begin a new decade with the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and our co-venturers.”

According to ExxonMobil, four drillships in Guyana continue to explore and appraise new resources as well as develop the resources within approved projects. A fifth drillship is expected to be deployed later in 2020.

Apart from the producing Liza Destiny FPSO, ExxonMobil expects to start production from at least to more FPSO in the next three years.

The Liza Unity FPSO, under construction in Singapore, will be used for the second phase of Liza development and will have a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day. It is expected to start production by mid-2022.

Also, subject to government approvals and project sanctioning of a third development, production from the Payara field north of the Liza discoveries could start as early as 2023, reaching an estimated 220,000 barrels of oil per day.