Not long ago, Guyana was a South American nation most of the world couldn’t find on a map. Today, it is one of the fastest-growing oil producers on the planet, and the story of how it got there is as much about ambition and timing as about what lies beneath the ocean floor. At the centre of that story is the Stabroek block — a vast offshore discovery that has fundamentally reshaped Guyana’s economic future and made the country a serious player on the global energy stage.
The scale of activity off Guyana’s coastline is genuinely hard to grasp. ExxonMobil Guyana and its contractors are currently producing approximately 900,000 barrels of oil per day from four active projects within the Stabroek block. To put that in perspective, many OPEC member nations produce less. For a country with a population of under a million, this level of output is nothing short of extraordinary. And the most remarkable part? The industry is still expanding.
The fifth project, Uaru, is expected to come online before the end of this year. Once it does, production at the Stabroek block will exceed one million barrels per day — a threshold of immense symbolic and economic significance. Reaching that milestone would place Guyana among a select group of nations capable of producing oil at that volume, putting it in the same conversation as established heavyweights in the game for generations. For a country that made its first major offshore discovery only in 2015, this trajectory is almost without precedent in modern energy history.
But the ambition runs even further. Construction is already well underway on Whiptail and Hammerhead, the sixth and seventh approved projects in the Stabroek block, respectively. Whiptail is on course to begin production in 2027, with Hammerhead expected to follow in 2029. Each new project adds not only barrels to the global market but also jobs, contracts, and revenue to a Guyanese economy still in the early stages of absorbing this transformative wealth. The development pipeline, in every sense of the word, looks full for the foreseeable future.
The human dimension of this boom is just as striking as the production figures. Approximately 6,000 Guyanese workers are currently employed in support of Stabroek Block operations — a figure that reflects a deliberate push to ensure Guyanese citizens are genuine participants in the industry rather than passive bystanders in foreign-led extraction. That number will rise as new projects move from construction into active production over the coming years.
The financial footprint is equally impressive. Since 2015, ExxonMobil Guyana and its network of contractors have spent more than US$3.9 billion with Guyanese suppliers. That is not money that simply passed through the country on its way elsewhere — it represents real investment in local businesses, services, and livelihoods. It has helped build an ecosystem of Guyanese companies capable of competing for and winning contracts in a technically demanding, globally competitive industry. The long-term value of that capacity-building may ultimately prove as important as the oil revenue itself.
The Stabroek block is operated by a joint venture comprising three major energy players. ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, an affiliate of ExxonMobil, serves as operator and holds the largest stake in the block at 45 per cent. It also operates the Longtail development. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds a 30 per cent interest, while CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, the Guyanese arm of China’s state-owned oil giant, holds the remaining 25 per cent. The partnership reflects global appetite for a share of what many analysts consider one of the most prolific deepwater discoveries of the past two decades.
Of course, not everyone views this rapid expansion through the same lens. Environmental groups have raised concerns about the pace of offshore development and whether it aligns with global climate commitments. Questions about how oil revenues are managed, distributed, and invested for future generations remain live debates in Guyana. Getting governance right — ensuring that this wealth builds lasting institutions rather than fueling short-term gains — is arguably the most pressing challenge the country faces.
But the momentum is undeniable. Project after project, barrel after barrel, Guyana is steadily cementing its place as one of the defining energy stories of this decade. The Stabroek block has already delivered more than anyone dared predict when the first significant discovery was announced just over ten years ago. With a million barrels a day on the horizon and two more major projects still to come, the full story of what this means for Guyana — and for global energy markets — is still unfolding.