The environmental permit awarded by the Guyanese EPA for the offshore field development project is for a period of five years; initial production from the project is expected to be achieved by early 2026
The Yellowtail development project is estimated to produce up to 250,000bpd. (Credit: C Morrison from Pixabay)
ExxonMobil has secured approval from the Guyanese Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Yellowtail development project, offshore Guyana.
The environmental permit has been awarded to the company’s affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana (EEPGL) for a period of five years. It allows the company to carry out the construction and operation of production facilities, within the Stabroek Block, that contains the Yellowtail discovery.
EEPGL and its partners had submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report of the project to the EPA last October.
The Yellowtail project is now the fourth petroleum development project to get approval in the Stabroek Block.
The EPA said that the permit “comprehensively addressed all environmental and social safeguards that are reasonably necessary to protect human health and the environment.”
ExxonMobil and its partners had made the Yellowtail discovery in April 2019. The Yellowtail-1 well was drilled to a depth of 18,445ft in 6,046ft of water where it had encountered nearly 292ft of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.
The company plans to drill 45 to 67 development wells as part of the field development, to be drilled from mid-2023 through 2032. These will include production, water injection, and gas re-injection wells.
A floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel will be used for the Yellowtail development project for processing, storing, and offloading the recovered oil.
The vessel will have the capacity to store two million barrels of stabilised crude oil.
Installation of the subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) and FPSO is planned to be started in 2025 with an aim to begin initial production by early 2026.
The Yellowtail development project is expected to produce up to 250,000 barrels of oil and gas per day (bpd).
EEPGL is the operator of the Stabroek Block with a 45% stake. It is partnered by Hess Guyana Exploration (30%) and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana (25%).