More gas injection issues force Exxon to limit Guyana crude output

The South American country’s environmental regulator said on Friday, August 21, 2020, that a series of mechanical issues is forcing Exxon Mobil Corp to limit its Guyana’s flagship offshore project output to 100,000 barrels-per-day (bpd).

Mechanical issues with gas compressing equipment have been preventing Exxon from going ahead with its initial plan of its full capacity of 120,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) in the first phase of its Liza project.

Meanwhile in June, the company had a slash in its Liza field output to about 30,000 bpd as result of gas reinjection issues, but it later ramped up to 90,000 bpd.

According to Exxon Senior Vice President Neil Chapman, the company saw the full capacity of its output that stood at about120,000 bpd in the second quarter.

Exxon, which operates Stabroek block in a consortium with Hess Corp and China’s CNOOC Lt, in an attempt not to flare an excessive amount of the gas, has considered limiting its output as mechanical issues are holding it back from reinjecting all of the natural gas produced beside the light, and sweet Liza crude.

The company together with its partners has so far discovered over 8 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas off Guyana’s coast.

Speaking about the gas equipment and the ongoing work to fix the issues an Exxon spokesperson said, “We continue to safely complete final commissioning of the gas handling system. Once the system is fully commissioned, we will be able to produce at full capacity.”

Similarly, the Executive Director for Guyana Environmental Protection Agency, Vincent Adams, said efforts are being put in place to make sure that the issue is fixed.

“We know that they’re doing their best to try to fix it, but the bottom line is it’s not fixed,” he said.

Guyanese authorities have earlier warned Exxon to avoid any form of flaring except for a pilot flame for safety purposes as natural gas flaring could result in gas emission from climate-warming greenhouse.