Guyana’s first oil batch sets sail

Guyana has officially shipped its very first batch of crude oil, a major oil-first for the country.

The first batch of oil — a million barrels of Liza sweet crude oil - is currently on a Suezmax tanker Yannis P headed for the United States. The Liza field is co-owned by Hess Corp, China’s CNOOC, and operator ExxonMobil who made 15 offshore finds in Guyana.

The project has uncovered more than six billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas, although a more recent find earlier this month will increase that figure. It is not yet known which of ExxonMobil’s US refineries the new crude will end up in.

All in all, ExxonMobil and its partners are expecting to produce at least 750,000 barrels per day within five years—a figure that if achieved would catapult Guyana into a serious global oil player and significantly raise living standards.

Exxon’s quick success in Guyana has triggered an exploration campaign in neighbouring Suriname, with a Total/Apache partnership striking oil right across the border just last week. The development brings hope to Suriname that it, too, could one day become an oil powerhouse.