Energy Advisor 2025-11-28 – Inter-American Dialogue

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

Energy ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

November 28, 2025

How Important Is Diversification for Guyana’s Oil Sector?

Guyana has long sought new oil production ventures to complement the Stabroek Block. The country’s capital, Georgetown, is pictured. // File Photo: Matt Shea via Flickr CC BY 2.0.

Q

A consortium led by French multinational oil firm TotalEnergies on Nov. 11 signed a five-year agreement with Guyanese energy officials to explore for hydrocarbons in a shallow-water block off the South American country’s coastline. The project at Block S4 aims to become Guyana’s second offshore oil production site; ExxonMobil’s Stabroek Block, the only currently active site, continues to ramp up output capacity to nearly one million barrels per day of crude oil. Under what timeframe can Block S4 realistically reach first oil, and what challenges face the project? How does the development of Block S4 compare to that of the Stabroek Block in terms of geology, as well as market and regulatory conditions? How important is diversification in the oil sector for Guyana’s economic and institutional development?

A

Stephanie Rivera, research analyst for crude oil markets at S&P Global: “After five years of Guyana’s oil production developed solely by an ExxonMobil-led consortium, a TotalEnergies-led consortium secured a production-sharing contract (PSC) for Block S4, which is expected to reach first oil in about five years. The project faces challenges due to its largely unexplored shallow-water location, leading to significant geological uncertainty. The S4 block’s geological characteristics differ from Stabroek’s. While Stabroek has seen substantial oil discoveries from basin-floor and slope-fan plays, S4 features shelf-margin and platform plays that have historically yielded smaller finds. Additionally, S4 is farther from the mature ‘hydrocarbon…”

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A sister publication of the Inter-American Dialogue’s daily Latin America Advisor, the weekly Energy Advisor captures fresh analysis from business leaders and government officials on the most important developments in oil and gas, biofuels, the power sector, renewables, new technologies, and the policy debates shaping the future of energy in the Western Hemisphere and beyond. To subscribe or for more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.