Oil for Christmas? Hess says production to begin in December

Hess Corporation, which holds a 30% share of the giant Stabroek Block offshore Guyana has announced that oil production is slated to begin in December, almost four months ahead of schedule.

The Stabroek Block is operated by ExxonMobil and production was initially set to begin in the first quarter of next year. But Hess, in announcing its third quarter report said that the Liza Destiny floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) arrived at the Stabroek Block in late August and production from Phase 1 is now targeted to startup in December.

“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 in a report on the company’s third quarter results.

“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.

During an interview last Friday, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman acknowledged that the FPSO had arrived earlier than expected “and therefore timelines moves up earlier than expected.”

There have been 14 oil discoveries made in the Stabroek Block, and it is estimated that more than six billion barrels of oil could be recovered.