Hess Corporation said that drilling has begun on the Haimara-1 exploration well offshore Guyana, the first of two planned exploration wells in January. The Stena Carron drillship is drilling the Haimara-1 well, located 19 miles (31 kilometers) east of the Pluma-1 discovery in the southeastern part of the Stabroek Block.

The Noble Tom Madden drillship will drill the second well, Tilapia-1, located three miles (five kilometers) west of the Longtail-1 discovery. The Tilapia-1 well is located in the growing Turbot area.

Operator ExxonMobil is progressing the Liza Phase 1 development, which has moved into its peak execution phase ahead of expected startup in early 2020. Drilling of development wells in the Liza field is continuing using the Noble Bob Douglas drillship, subsea equipment is being prepared for installation, and the topside facilities modules are being installed on the Liza Destiny floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel in Singapore.

Preparations are underway for the commencement of pipe-laying activities in the Liza field in the spring. The Liza Destiny FPSO is expected to sail from Singapore to arrive offshore Guyana in the third quarter of 2019.

The growing resource base on the Stabroek Block underpins the potential for at least five FPSOs producing more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025. Liza Phase 2 is expected to start up by mid 2022. Pending government and regulatory approvals, project sanction is expected in first quarter 2019 and will use a second FPSO designed to produce up to 220,000 barrels per day. Sanctioning of a third development, Payara, is also expected in 2019 with start up as early as 2023.

ExxonMobil plans to deploy a seismic vessel operated by Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) to the Turbot area to acquire 4-D seismic data similar to a 4-D campaign conducted in the Liza area in 2017. A second PGS vessel has been released after seismic acquisition activities were suspended on Dec. 22 when vessels were approached by the Venezuelan navy in the northwest portion of the Stabroek Block. Drilling and development operations offshore Guyana are unaffected by the incident, which occurred more than 110 kilometers northwest of the Ranger discovery.

Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds a 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds a 30 percent interest and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds a 25 percent interest.

About Hess

Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) is a leading global independent energy company engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is one of the largest refiners and marketers of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world.