ExxonMobil issues FID for Hammerhead project offshore Guyana

ExxonMobil has made the final investment decision for the $6.8-billion Hammerhead field development project offshore Guyana, after receiving the required regulatory approvals.

Hammerhead, the seventh project on the Stabroek block, is anticipated to come online in 2029.

The development will utilize an FPSO vessel and calls for 18 production and injection wells, with a capacity to produce approximately 150,000 barrels of oil per day.

“We continue to set a new standard in Guyana – advancing an impressive seventh project just 10 years after first discovery,” said Dan Ammann, President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company. “In collaboration with the people and government of Guyana, we’ve helped build a thriving new oil-and-gas industry in the country that is creating jobs, supplier opportunities, profits and follow-on investments.”

ExxonMobil says that this latest decision increases funds committed for seven approved projects to more than $60 billion. 

ExxonMobil says that it is currently producing approximately 650,000 barrels of oil per day from the Stabroek block. With the recent successful startup of a fourth FPSO, ONE GUYANA, the company anticipates growing production to more than 900,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of the year. 

Construction is underway for the fifth and sixth approved projects, Uaru and Whiptail, with Uaru anticipated to start production in 2026, and Whiptail is anticipated for startup in 2027. 

As reported by Reuters, citing the Guyanese government, associated gas from Hammerhead will be transferred to a pipeline network for a gas-to-energy project. The goal is to use surplus gas produced from Hammerhead for local power generation within Guyana. 

Exxon operates the Stabroek Block with a 45% interest. Its partners Chevron and CNOOC hold 30% and 25%, respectively.