Routledge: Efficient supply chains powering Guyana’s oil development success

Guyana and its oil partners have been incredibly effective in the development of the country’s offshore resources, with much of this success being attributed to the efficiency of the industry’s supply chain.

Guyana is set to celebrate 10 years since the announcement of oil in 2015. So far, the ExxonMobil-led consortium has successfully developed its first three oil projects: Liza 1 and 2, and Payara, all on schedule and within budget, with three more projects—Yellowtail, set for the third quarter of this year, as well as Uaru and Whiptail, set for 2026 and 2027 respectively.

ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge, during a sit-down with OilNow at the recently concluded Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, said the rapid pace of development is a direct result of the collaborative environment between the government and private sector.

He noted that while Exxon is known for its expertise in the execution of oil projects, the real support comes from the correct alignment of projects with contractors.

The “good work” the company has been doing in this area has allowed it to set target schedules that are ahead of the project deadlines, Routledge said.

He pointed out that, “in reality, what we’re seeing is one project starting to enable the next, and that the development supply chain has become incredibly efficient in how we’re delivering deep-water projects here in Guyana.”

Routledge explained that, apart from the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities, there are subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines for every project; and even below the seabed, there are wells to drill.

“For each of those, there is even more of a manufacturing supply chain, where we lay many, many flowlines—miles and miles of flowline for every project. We drill many of these projects in excess of 40 wells per project, so it’s more of a manufacturing process. By being able to repeat these over multiple projects, we’re achieving efficiencies and performance that nobody is seeing anywhere else in the world.”

Routledge added that it has been critical from the beginning to maximise opportunities where much of its supplies come from within the country. He said it would have been easy to leverage existing supply chains elsewhere in the world, considering Trinidad already has an oil and gas industry, and use their infrastructure and companies.

“But in the long term, that is not going to be as efficient, nor does it deliver as much value to Guyana,” Routledge opined. He said this is why, when oil in commercial quantities was found in 2015, they began the process of finding strategic investments that would enable the project.

Guyana’s Local Content regulations have played a significant role in ensuring Guyanese presence within the supply chain. The Guyana-owned Shore Base Inc., which allowed for the setting up of drilling, well completion, and later, production chains, is one of those instrumental projects that have occurred locally.

With the companies that supply the shorebase and the companies which supply those suppliers, Routledge said that Exxon has essentially been able to establish the full supply chain for drilling and completing wells in Guyana.