U.S. energy major Exxon Mobil XOM-N has started production at a third offshore oil development project in Guyana, the company said on Tuesday, bringing the total capacity in the South American country to about 620,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The company is using a vessel, named Prosperity, to produce oil from the Payara project, which is expected to add 220,000 bpd of production.
Exxon is part of a consortium, which includes Hess and CNOOC, that operates in Guyana and has made more than 30 discoveries in the country’s offshore waters since 2015.
Separately, Hess said that the Prosperity vessel had arrived in Guyana in April, this year. It is anchored in water depth of about 6,300 feet and will develop an estimated resource base of more than 600 million barrels of oil.
Payara was sanctioned in 2020 with an estimated development cost of $9-billion and has about 41 development wells.
Hess had said earlier this year that Payara has a break-even cost of $32 per barrel. Benchmark brent crude trades at about $82 per barrel currently.
Exxon has already announced plans to produce oil from five projects in Guyana and expects to make a final investment decision regarding a sixth project named Whiptail by the first quarter of 2024.
Last month, Chevron announced the acquisition of Hess, securing a footprint in oil-rich Guyana.