03 October 2025
ExxonMobil has sanctioned its seventh major offshore project in Guyana, approving a final investment decision (FID) of US$6.8bn for the Hammerhead development in the Stabroek Block.
The move comes a decade after the first oil discovery in the basin, underscoring Guyana’s emergence as one of the fastest-growing oil producers in the world. The Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed the issuance of a production licence, authorising ExxonMobil and its partners to proceed with development.
“The Hammerhead project is expected to boost energy security, drive industrial growth and create employment across various sectors as it joins a growing portfolio of developments which continue to position Guyana as a key player in the global energy landscape,” said the Ministry in a statement.
Hammerhead was discovered in 2018 in the southwestern part of the Stabroek Block. It will produce approximately 150,000 barrels of oil per day, supported by 10 production wells and eight injection wells, and will also deliver up to 95mn cubic feet of associated gas to shore to support the government’s Gas-to-Energy project.
Thedevelopment will employ a floating production, storage and offloading vessel converted from a very large crude carrier, with MODEC of Japan already undertaking early engineering work. The Ministry has forecast that Hammerhead will recover some 445mn barrels of oil over its lifetime.
Dan Ammann, President of ExxonMobil’s Upstream Company, hailed the achievement. “We continue to set a new standard in Guyana; advancing an impressive seventh project just 10 years after first discovery,” he said.
“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,” added Ammann. “This is about more than barrels. It’s about building an industry that will last,” he said.
The Hammerhead development adds to a remarkable series of multi-billion-dollar projects already sanctioned offshore Guyana. ExxonMobil’s Yellowtail, Uaru and Whiptail projects each carried costs of between US$10bn and US$12.7bn, and in total the company and its partners have committed more than US$60bn to Guyana’s oil sector.
Exxon operates the Stabroek Block with a 45% stake, while Hess, which has been acquired by Chevron, holds 30%, and CNOOC owns the remaining 25%.
The lineup of sanctioned projects includes Liza Phase 1, which started production in 2019 and now produces 160,000 barrels per day, followed by Liza Phase 2 in 2022, which doubled capacity to 265,000 barrels. Payara came online in 2023 with 265,000 barrels, while Yellowtail, Guyana’s largest project to date, achieved first oil in August 2025 with 250,000 barrels. Uaru is scheduled for 2026, also producing 250,000 barrels, and Whiptail is on track for late 2027 or early 2028.
Hammerhead will round out the current sequence in 2029, with Longtail under consideration for around 2030. Taken together, ExxonMobil has stated that these projects could push Guyana’s oil output to 1.7mn barrels per day by the end of the decade, with total hydrocarbons production approaching 2mn barrels of oil equivalent.
International firm TechnipFMC has also secured a contract worth more than US$250mn to provide subsea production systems for Hammerhead, including manifolds, trees and associated controls. The award marks the seventh greenfield project ExxonMobil Guyana has given to the subsea contractor.
Domestically, the government has highlighted that Hammerhead’s production licence contains stronger provisions than earlier agreements, reflecting its new legislative and regulatory framework.
The licence aligns with Guyana’s Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Responsibility Act 2025 and introduces new conditions covering off-specification fluid discharges, production management, and the transfer of associated gas to the Gas-to-Energy pipeline. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue a separate permit for the development.
Meanwhile, ExxonMobil’s activities are continuing to have a transformative impact on the Guyanese economy through the Local Content Act. The company reported record spending of US$415.7mn with 1,800 local suppliers in the first half of 2025, bringing its cumulative local expenditure since 2015 to more than US$2.9bn.
Around 6,200 Guyanese, representing 70% of the Stabroek Block workforce, are now employed in the sector. The Private Sector Commission has praised the commencement of in-country fabrication services at the Vreed-en-Hoop Shore Base, describing it as a significant advance in building Guyana’s industrial capacity.
All told, the Hammerhead project, due to begin producing in 2029, marks the latest step in Guyana’s dramatic transformation into a global oil power. As the Ministry noted, it “joins a growing portfolio of developments which continue to position Guyana as a key player in the global energy landscape.”
Source: Caribbean Insight – 03 October 2025 Volume 47, Issue 19