THE start of oil production from the ‘One Guyana’ floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, as announced by the Government of Guyana and ExxonMobil, is a massive boost for revenue generation in the country’s oil sector.
The vessel is producing oil as part of ExxonMobil’s Yellowtail development, the fourth offshore project in the Stabroek Block and the largest to date. With a production capacity of 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), ONE GUYANA will eventually push total output to more than 900,000 b/d once fully ramped up. That makes Guyana not just one of the top oil producers in Latin America but also the world’s largest oil producer per capita.
Equally significant is how quickly this milestone was reached. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told shareholders the Yellowtail development achieved first oil four months ahead of schedule and under budget, continuing a trend seen across prior projects. This early delivery reflects the strength of the partnership between ExxonMobil and SBM Offshore, the company that built the FPSO.
SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward® program, built on a “design one, build many” standardisation approach, has revolutionised FPSO construction timelines. First applied in Guyana with the Liza Unity FPSO and continued through the Payara and now ONE GUYANA vessels, Fast4Ward has drastically shortened project delivery windows. The result? Earlier production, faster returns for investors, and earlier revenues for Guyana.
This matters because oil revenues are now a key pillar of Guyana’s development agenda. The country has already seen transformative gains from the first three oil projects. Revenues have allowed the government to fund major infrastructure projects, expand social programmes, and create jobs. In recent years, the government has used oil revenues to invest in infrastructure projects, expand access to electricity, improve healthcare and education systems, and improve social services across the country. With ONE GUYANA now online, those investments are expected to allow for the delivery of more long-term benefits for the Guyanese people.
The Local Content Act has guided companies in the sector to work with Guyanese suppliers, enabling local businesses to earn more and reinvest in other sectors, contributing to economic diversification. With ONE GUYANA coming online, and more work on newer developments, these benefits are expected to expand. Guyanese companies will see more contract opportunities, and workers will benefit from a broader range of jobs in support services and construction. More importantly, the government will have even more resources to invest in its people and to save for the future.

Guyana is projected to earn around US$2.5 billion in revenue from oil sales and royalties in 2025, according to the Ministry of Finance. The ONE GUYANA ramp-up could help generate revenues that exceed those projections. This possibility is very real. ExxonMobil and SBM Offshore have shown they can not only deliver projects early but also ramp up production faster than expected, which could outperform government estimates that total oil production will be 786,000 bpd in the fourth quarter.
In the bigger picture, the success of ONE GUYANA is a continuation of Exxon’s incredible work on efficient execution, more money, and a deeper integration of Guyanese people and businesses into the oil value chain.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.