After a series of notable oil discoveries in offshore Guyana and then Suriname over the last six years the impoverished South American nations became a focal point for offshore drilling on the continent. Seismic and other geological data show that the region possesses many characteristics in common with the West African margin, where the world-class multi-billion-barrel Jubilee oilfield was discovered in 2007. Guyana and Suriname, along with French Guiana, share the Guyana-Suriname Basin which is now one of the world’s hottest drilling prospects for big oil. Global energy supermajor ExxonMobil has made 18 high quality oil discoveries in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana since 2015, estimating that they hold over eight billion barrels of recoverable crude oil resources. Exxon recently announced that the Liza Phase-1 offshore Guyana oilfield had reached planned production capacity of 130,000 barrels daily. Liza Phase-2, which is designed to pump 220,000 barrels per day, will […]