ExxonMobil Guyana has asked the Guyana government for approval to study a potential increase in production at its Yellowtail offshore oil project. The company’s President, Alistair Routledge, told the media during a press conference last week that it wants to increase production to as much as 290,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The proposal follows recent project performance, which has already exceeded its original design target. Yellowtail, which began pumping oil last year, reached its initial capacity of 250,000 bpd within three months and is now producing at an upper limit of about 263,000 bpd. Routledge said the company believes further gains are possible.
Yellowtail is part of ExxonMobil’s broader push to extract more value from its offshore Guyana developments, where production optimisation has become a standard strategy after start-up. A successful upgrade at Yellowtail would position it as the highest-producing project in Guyana’s offshore portfolio, further lifting output from the Exxon-led Stabroek Block. Production currently exceeds 900,000 barrels per day from four projects.