ExxonMobil has made a final investment decision for the Whiptail development offshore Guyana, following government and regulatory approvals
Whiptail is the sixth project on the prolific Stabroek block and is expected to add around 250,000 barrels per day of capacity by the end of 2027. ExxonMobil values Whiptail at US$12.7Bn and expects the project to include up to 10 drilling centres with 48 production and injection wells. ExxonMobil operates six drillships in Guyana.
An FPSO for the project is currently under construction with Saipem, along with FPSOs for the Yellowtail and Uara projects, which are expected to begin production in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
In troubled Myanmar, Chevron has decided to unwind its stake in the offshore Yadana project. The oil major withdrew from the Yadana natural gas field in the first week of April. Chevron’s 41.10% stake in the gas field has been redistributed to the remaining shareholders, Myanmar’s state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP). PTTEP will now serve as field operator and its stake in Yadana had been upped to 62.96%.
Located in the Gulf of Martaban, the Yadana field began producing in 1998 and has produced around 6 billion cubic metres per year of gas, 70% of which has been exported to Thailand and about 30% supplied for domestic use to MOGE.
Chevron cited Myanmar’s ongoing civil war as the main reason for its withdrawal.
Contracts
Shelf Drilling subsidiary Shelf Drilling North Sea has secured more work with Equinor for the jack-up Shelf Drilling Barsk (formerly called Noble Lloyd Noble) worth an estimated US$81M. Shelf Drilling Barsk is expected to begin its 270-day firm, two-well contract in the Sleipner Vest field in May after Equinor exercised one of two previously agreed options for work at Sleipner.
Equinor also awarded a two-well, 254-day contract extension for the rig at the Gudrun field and the state-owned Norwegian firm will have options for three further wells at Gudrun.
Semi-submersible COSLInnovator will commence a four-well contract in the UK North Sea for Petrofac. COSLInnovator mobilised from a Norwegian yard this week, where it was undertaking a special periodic survery.
Petrofac will deploy the rig in the Bittern field on a four-well contract in the Triton area managed by Petrofac for Serica Energy and Dana Petroleum. The first well is a sidetrack of existing well (B1z) on the Bittern field. Other wells in the campaign are the GE-05 well on Gannet E, the EC well on Guillemot North West, and the EV-02 well on Evelyn. Serica has also exercised an option to use COSLInnovator to drill a fifth well in direct continuation of the four-well campaign.
Deepsea Stavanger has moved to the Brokk-Mju prospect in the Southern North Sea. The rig will drill the Equinor-operated production licence PL025.
Dorado, a newly built ultra-deepwater drillship, has departed South Korean yard Samsung Heavy Industries. The rig left earlier this month as is en route to Labuan, Malaysia and due to arrive this week. The 7th-generation 3,658-m drillship is owned by Eldorado Drilling. Eldorado acquired three Samsung 12000 design rigs –Zonda, Dorado and Draco in 2023. These units were initially ordered for Seadrill back in 2013 but the orders were cancelled in 2018 with Samsung assuming ownership.
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