Guyana Races Toward Million-Barrel Status in One of Offshore Oil’s Fastest Ramp-Ups

  • Guyana’s oil production has climbed from a standing start in December 2019 to over 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) in just over six years, marking one of the fastest offshore production ramp-ups in history. With additional Stabroek Block projects still to come, output capacity is expected to rise to approximately 1.3Mn bpd by the end of 2027.
  • The analysis of daily reported production data from the Ministry of Natural Resources shows output rising in large, project-led steps rather than gradually, moving from startup volumes in 2020 to roughly 100,000 bpd by 2021, then toward the 400,000 bpd range in 2022, and now to just over 900,000 bpd.
  • The Stabroek Block, operated by ExxonMobil Guyana with partners Hess and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), has been the engine of the ramp-up, with each new Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) adding another large block of capacity. Whiptail is expected to add about 250,000 bpd by the end of 2027 and bring Guyana’s total production capacity to about 1.3 Mn bpd.
  • The pace is globally significant, as Guyana has gone from no commercial oil production to output levels comparable with, or higher than, several long-established producing countries, making it one of the key non-Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) growth stories alongside the United States, Canada, and Brazil.
  • The rapid ramp-up is strengthening export earnings, government revenue, and Guyana’s strategic importance in global energy supply, but it also increases pressure on public institutions, infrastructure, local content capacity, environmental oversight, and long-term fiscal management.
  • Guyana’s rapid production growth is part of a wider shift in global crude flows toward South America, which has posted the largest year-to-date increase in oil exports of any producing region in 2026. While Brazil remains the region’s largest exporter, Guyana has been the fastest-growing contributor, with January–May export loadings increasing from around 17 Mn barrels in 2021 to around 137 Mn barrels in 2026, reinforcing its rising importance as a non-Middle East source of global oil supply.

(Source: OilNOW)