–as ExxonMobil’s Hammerhead project gets green light

GUYANA’S march toward becoming a top global oil producer has taken another leap, with ExxonMobil, on Monday, announcing a final investment decision (FID) for the US$6.8 billion Hammerhead development, its seventh project in the Stabroek Block.
Scheduled for startup in 2029, Hammerhead will add 150,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to national output, pushing total production capacity across the block to an unprecedented 1.5 million bopd.
The Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed that it has granted approval for the Hammerhead Field Development Plan (FDP) and issued the Petroleum Production Licence (PPL), making way for what will be one of the largest offshore expansions in the country’s history.
President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, Dan Ammann, hailed the milestone as proof of the company’s long-term partnership with Guyana.
“We continue to set a new standard in Guyana – advancing an impressive seventh project just 10 years after first discovery,” Ammann 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.”
The Hammerhead project will utilise a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) conversion FPSO being built by Japanese contractor MODEC and will be developed with 18 wells, 10 production and eight injections.
Over its lifespan, Hammerhead is expected to yield 445 million barrels of oil.

NEW LICENCE CONDITIONS
Government stressed that the licence goes further than previous agreements by tightening environmental and operational safeguards.
It is aligned with the new Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Responsibility Act 2025, features stronger management of production levels, and sets new conditions on off-specification fluid discharges. Importantly, associated gas from Hammerhead must be transferred to the Gas-to-Energy (GtE) pipeline network.
“These enhancements reflect the government’s ongoing commitment to responsible resource management and sustainable development,” the ministry noted.

Hammerhead raises total committed investments across seven sanctioned projects in the Stabroek Block to more than US$60 billion.
To date, Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund has received over US$7.8 billion in oil revenues since first production in 2019. ExxonMobil and its contractors have also spent US$2.9 billion with Guyanese suppliers; while employing more than 6,200 nationals, 70 percent of the workforce tied to block operations.
Current output stands at 650,000 bopd, with the recent startup of the ONE GUYANA FPSO expected to push that to 900,000 bopd by year-end. Production from Uaru (2026) and Whiptail (2027) will follow, before Hammerhead comes online in 2029.
Hammerhead, discovered in 2018 in the southwestern portion of the Stabroek Block, is operated by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited with a 45 percent stake, alongside Hess (30 per cent) and CNOOC (25 per cent).