In this week’s “Shipping Number of the Week” from BIMCO, Chief Shipping Analyst, Niels Rasmussen, examines the oil exports of Guyana which has seen an average annual growth rate of 76% over the past three years and is expected to remain one of the main areas of oil supply growth outside OPEC+, reports Safety4sea.
Oil exports
ExxonMobil first started producing from the Liza field in the Starbroek Block in late 2019. Since then, the operation in the Liza field has been expanded and production in the Payara field added. In total, three Floating Production, Storage and Offloading ships (FPSOs) are currently producing oil in the Starbroek Block.
The two FPSOs in the Liza field have year-to-date exported 371 kbpd while the one in the Payara field has exported 227 kbpd.
The single largest discharge port for Guyana’s oil is the Chiriqui Grande terminal in Panama, but North Europe has emerged as the largest destination area with nearly 45% of the oil heading there year-to-date. Mediterranean Europe took another 18% while the remaining 38% headed to ports in the Americas.
Guyana’s oil is mainly exported by Suezmax ships but as volumes to North Europe has increased so has the use of VLCCs. Year-to-date, 77% (458 kbpd) has loaded on Suezmax ships with VLCCs getting 23% (138 kbpd). As the VLCC voyages are longer than average, VLCCs benefit from 29% of the tonne miles that Guyana’s export offers.
The oil production has contributed to significant economic growth in Guyana. In the five years since oil production began in late 2019, the country’s economy has grown at an average annual rate of 38%. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels of recoverable oil and natural gas has been identified and exploration is continuing. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the economy will grow at an average annual rate of 17% during the next five years.
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Source: Safety4sea
