Guyana’s rise in the global oil arena has taken a major step forward with the launch of ExxonMobil’s Yellowtail development in the Stabroek Block, pushing the country’s production capacity past 900,000 barrels per day (bpd).

As the fourth and largest project in the offshore block, Yellowtail adds up to 250,000 bpd through the ONE GUYANA floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO). The facility can store two million barrels of crude, treat 450 million cubic feet of gas daily, and inject up to 300,000 bpd of water to maintain reservoir pressure.

ExxonMobil hailed the ahead-of-schedule startup as a landmark achievement, noting that over 67% of the oil and gas workforce in Guyana are nationals, with more than 2,000 local businesses already engaged in the sector. The $10 billion project, approved in 2022, is based on the Yellowtail and Redtail discoveries and includes 26 production wells and 25 gas injection wells. Oil from the FPSO will be sold as Golden Arrowhead crude.

The Stabroek Block is operated by ExxonMobil (45%) alongside Chevron (30%) which acquired its stake through the purchase of Hess and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana (25%). A recent arbitration dispute over Chevron’s entry was resolved in Chevron’s favor.

Yellowtail is part of an aggressive growth plan aiming to lift Guyana’s total oil output to 1.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, with the Uaru and Whiptail projects set to come online in 2026 and 2027, respectively each adding another 250,000 bpd.

With Yellowtail joining the Destiny, Prosperity, and Unity FPSOs already in operation, ExxonMobil says Guyana’s deepwater developments are among the fastest, most cost-efficient offshore projects in the world.