Oil production in the Stabroek Block is now expected in December this year.

This is according to Hess Corporation, a partnering company of ExxonMobil.

The company reminded a statement, that the Liza Destiny floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) arrived at the Stabroek Block , offshore Guyana, in late August.

Against this backdrop, it noted that production from the Liza Phase 1 development is now targeted for startup in December 2019.

Oil production in the Stabroek Block was originally targeted for the first quarter of 2020.

In July this year, Hess , which has 30% interest in the Stabroek Block, increased  the estimated amount of hydrocarbon discovered offshore this northeastern South American country to 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).

“We achieved strong operational performance once again this quarter, delivering higher production and lower capital and exploratory expenditures than previous guidance,” Chief Executive Officer John Hess said.

He added that,”In September, we announced our 14th discovery in the Stabroek Block at Tripletail, offshore Guyana and are now targeting December for first oil from the Liza-1 development. We also just announced an oil discovery at the Esox-1 well, part of our focused exploration program in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, which will be a low cost, high return tieback to Tubular Bells production facilities.”

In September, ExxonMobil copped its 14th discovery in the Stabroek Block at the Tripletail-1 well in the Turbot area.

In that well, the company encountered approximately 33 meters of a high-quality oil bearing sandstone reservoir.
The well was drilled in 2,003 meters of water and is located approximately 3 miles northeast of the Longtail discovery.

A release from the company informed that, upon completion of operations at Tripletail, the Noble Tom Madden drillship will next drill the Uaru-1 well, located approximately 6 miles east of the Liza field.Drilling was forecasted to begin this month.

Previously, ExxonMobil announced plans to have at least five FPSO vessels on the Stabroek Block, which will produce more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025.

The Liza Phase 1 development is on track to start-up by early 2020 and will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day, utilizing the Liza Destiny FPSO.

ExxonMobil approved funding for the Liza Phase 2 development after it received Government and regulatory approvals in May 2019.