ExxonMobil has announced it has made its ninth oil discovery offshore Guyana.

Hammerhead-1, located around 21km southwest of the Liza-1 well, hit around 60m of “high quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir” after being drilled to a depth of 4,225 metres.

Steve Greenlee, President of ExxonMobil Exploration Company said: “The Hammerhead-1 discovery reinforces the potential of the Guyana basin, where ExxonMobil is already maximising value for all stakeholders through rapid phased developments and accelerated exploration plans.”

The latest discovery follows others including Liza, Liza Deep, Payara, Snoek, Turbot, Ranger, Pacora and Longtail.

ExxonMobil expects them to produce more than 750,000 barrels per day of oil by 2025.

A second exploration vessel is due to arrive in Guyana in October.