Exxon strikes oil again in Guyana, raises output target

Exxon Mobil Corp has made two new discoveries at the Sailfin-1 and Yarrow-1 wells in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana, the oil major said on Wednesday, adding more barrels to one of the most closely watched new oil discoveries.

Exxon did not disclose how much crude oil or gas it estimates the new discoveries to contain, but it also hiked a previous output forecast for the third quarter from older discoveries in the region.

Guyana amounts for one third of the crude discovered in the world since Exxon first hit oil in the country in 2015, according to Rystad consultancy firm.

The about 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil discovered prior to Wednesday's finds, should make the country a global oil power in the coming years, Rystad says.

Exxon and its partner Hess Corp HES.N said that the Liza Phase 1 and Phase 2, the first projects sanctioned offshore Guyana by the two companies, are producing above capacity and achieved an average of nearly 360,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in the third quarter.

The companies expect total production from Guyana to cross a million barrels per day by the end of this decade.

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