ExxonMobil Guyana Receives Errea Wittu FPSO at Uaru Field, Pushing Guyana Past 1 Million Barrels Per Day

MODEC Inc. delivered the Errea Wittu floating production, storage, and offloading vessel to the Uaru field offshore Guyana on August 21, 2026. Guyana's Ministry of Natural Resources said the $12.7 billion project will push national oil output beyond 1 million barrels per day once production begins in the fourth quarter of 2026. The vessel is the fifth and largest FPSO to enter the Stabroek block.

FPSO Specifications and Field Details

The Errea Wittu will produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day at peak capacity, per Oil & Gas Journal. It will process 540 million cubic feet of gas per day and inject 350,000 barrels of water per day to sustain reservoir pressure. The M350-hull design provides oil storage of up to 2 million barrels.

The Uaru field lies approximately 200 kilometres offshore Guyana at a water depth of 1,690 metres. Estimated recoverable reserves exceed 800 million barrels of oil. Development encompasses 10 drill centres and 44 wells, consisting of 21 production wells and 23 water and gas injection wells.

MODEC built and delivered the FPSO. Seatrium Ltd. completed the topsides integration. Aker Solutions supplied umbilicals. TechnipFMC handled subsea production system engineering, procurement, and manufacturing. The FPSO is moored using a SOFEC spread mooring system.

Operator Subsidiary Structure at Stabroek Block

ExxonMobil operates the Uaru development through Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, its wholly owned subsidiary, with a 45% working interest. Hess Guyana Exploration Limited holds 30%. CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, holds the remaining 25%.

This three-partner structure has governed all Stabroek block developments, from Liza Phase 1 through the Payara project. Capital spending decisions and development approvals require alignment among all three partners. The arrangement was established when ExxonMobil first discovered commercial oil at the Stabroek block's Liza-1 well in 2015.

Revenue Calculation at Current Brent Prices

ExxonMobil's 45% working interest translates to a net entitlement of approximately 112,500 barrels per day at Uaru's peak production. Brent crude was trading at $88.72 per barrel as of late morning August 25, per ICE. At that price, ExxonMobil's share of annual gross oil revenues from Uaru alone approaches $3.6 billion, calculated before royalties, taxes, and operating costs.

The 540 MMcfd gas processing capacity adds further revenue potential. The Uaru development includes gas treatment capacity that predecessors lacked at comparable scale. CNOOC Petroleum Guyana and Hess Guyana each share proportional revenues based on their working interests.

From First Oil in 2019 to One Million Barrels Per Day

ExxonMobil achieved first oil at Liza Phase 1 in December 2019, launching Guyana's commercial production history. The country added the Liza Phase 2 and Payara projects, growing national output to an estimated 750,000 to 800,000 barrels per day before the Errea Wittu's arrival. The Ministry of Natural Resources projects total output will exceed 1 million barrels per day as the fifth FPSO ramps to peak capacity.

The EIA's August 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts Brent crude averaging approximately $85 per barrel in the third quarter of 2026, below current intraday levels. The EIA projects Brent declining to approximately $69 per barrel in 2027, citing growing non-OPEC supply as inventory rebuilds. Guyana's production ramp is one of the faster deepwater start-up sequences on record.

MODEC Statement and Vessel Technology

Soichi Ide, MODEC Head of Floating Production Solutions, said: "This achievement underscores our one-team approach, commitment to excellence, and deep technical expertise developed over decades." The Errea Wittu uses AI-enabled systems to predict equipment failures, reduce emissions, and provide process safety insights. Those systems are built into the hull design and are operational from startup.

The Uaru development integrates three Stabroek block resources: the Snoek, Mako, and Uaru reservoirs. None of those three were covered by the four preceding FPSO developments. ExxonMobil and its Stabroek partners have identified further offshore Guyana development opportunities beyond 2026.