The consortium, which includes Exxon, Hess (HES.N), opens new tab and CNOOC (0883.HK), opens new tab, expects to inaugurate output next year using its newest vessel, called One Guyana, Routledge said in remarks at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
New wells in the deepwater Stabroek block, home to the largest oil discovery in nearly a decade, are being completed in an average of 35 days, a record low for deepwater projects, he said.
"Guyana will become the second largest oil producer in Latin America after Brazil, soon," Routledge said. "This is a tremendous operation... with the sixth project, we will have 500 kilometers (311 miles) of flowlines in total."
Exxon as operator plans this year to drill two "exciting but high risk" opportunities, called Redmouth and Trumpetfish, that target oil reserves, he said. The wells will test the reservoir.
For their fifth offshore project, called Uaru, the group has hired Mitsui Ocean Development & Engineering Co. (Modec) to build the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
A sixth project, called Whiptail, was recently sanctioned, and is expecting to begin output by the end of 2027. It would bring the group's total output capacity in the country to 1.3 million barrels per day.
