By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — On the second day of the 2026 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge unveiled an ambitious roadmap for the nation’s gas resources. Beyond the ongoing developments at Wales, the company is now throwing its full weight behind a Berbice Gas-Fueled Industrial Development—a move designed to catalyze regional growth and transform the Berbice corridor into a second industrial heartland.
This strategic expansion coincides with the milestone achievement of Guyana surpassing 900,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) following the successful ramp-up of the Yellowtail FPSO.
The “Gas Master Plan” and Berbice Expansion
Routledge confirmed that ExxonMobil is currently developing a comprehensive “Gas Master Plan” to integrate natural gas more deeply into Guyana’s national energy matrix.
- Authorization Imminent: Within the “coming weeks or next couple of months,” ExxonMobil intends to submit formal requests for environmental and project authorization for a second gas development.
- Location: This second gas-focused project will be situated in the southeast portion of the Stabroek Block, closer to the border with Suriname, facilitating potential regional energy cooperation.
- Berbice Industrial Hub: The proposed development in Berbice aims to use natural gas as a primary fuel source for heavy industry, potentially supporting manufacturing, fertilizer production, and petrochemicals.
Production Milestones: Surpassing 900,000 BPD
The conference highlighted Guyana’s meteoric rise as a global energy powerhouse. The Yellowtail FPSO, which commenced production in August 2025, has added its full capacity of 250,000 bpd, bringing the total national output to over 900,000 daily barrels.
Current FPSO Status & Future Projects:
- Operational: Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity (Payara), and Yellowtail.
- Under Construction/Planning:
- Hammerhead & Whiptail: Focusing on high-yield oil extraction.
- Longtail FPSO: Specifically targeting complex retrograde gas reservoirs, requiring advanced gas injection technology.
- Uaru: Progressing toward its 2026/2027 startup date.
Local Content and Supply Chain Hubs
A key pillar of the “ExxonMobil Strategy” is the continued expansion of the Vreed-en-Hoop Shore Base.
- Subsea Assembly: The shore base has become the primary hub for assembling subsea components, supporting multiple concurrent installation campaigns.
- Sustaining Growth: Routledge underscored that the target remains eight projects producing 1.7 million bpd by 2030. To achieve this, he called for continued collaboration between the government, international partners, and local businesses to strengthen the Guyanese supply chain.
The Road to 2030: Guyana’s Energy Trajectory
Guyana reached a significant milestone between August 2025 and February 2026 as the Yellowtail FPSO reached full capacity, pushing production to 900,000 BPD. Looking ahead to mid-2026, ExxonMobil plans to submit authorization requests for the southeast Stabroek gas project. From 2027 onward, the Berbice hub is expected to see the commencement of gas-fueled industrial works, all leading toward the 2030 goal of completing eight major offshore projects to reach 1.7 million BPD.
