GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — Guyana says US oil giant ExxonMobil has made its 13th discovery offshore at the Yellowtail-1 Well.

“Guyana continues to receive positive news with the announcement of these oil finds offshore [but] the real substance of these finds will accrue only when citizens are able to benefit directly or indirectly from these discoveries,” says the director of energy, Dr Mark Bynoe.

Yellowtail-1 is the third discovery for 2019 and represents the fifth discovery in the Turbot area, where ExxonMobil is evaluating its potential as an additional development hub.

The well encountered approximately 292 feet of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled to a depth of 18,445 feet in 6,046 feet of water. It is located approximately six miles northwest of the Tilapia discovery.

In a statement, Bynoe stated that the rate of these oil discoveries demonstrates the magnitude of Guyana’s natural resources, and further reiterated the department’s intentions to manage the resource efficiently.

“For years, Guyanese have heard of the country’s oil potential and we are now seeing it manifesting…the Department of Energy intends to employ international best practice in managing this resource and the monies that will be derived therefrom — to give Guyanese ‘the good life’ that is in consonance with the construct of the Green State Development Strategy.”

In February, ExxonMobil announced its 11th and 12th discoveries offshore Guyana at the Tilapia-1 and Haimara-1 wells in the south-west section of the Stabroek Block.

The statement said that the oil company intends to drill more than 10 exploration and appraisal wells offshore Guyana in 2019 and 2020. It said the company has noted the potential for at least five floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels on the Stabroek Block — producing more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025.

Start-up of the Liza Phase 1 development is expected to begin early in the first quarter of 2020 and will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day by utilising the Liza Destiny FPSO, the statement added.