EXCLUSIVE-Guyana may scale back LNG plans as Exxon needs more gas for its wells, sources say

ExxonMobil has told Guyana it ‌will ​need more offshore gas to maximize oil production than the government had expected, potentially leaving less for liquefied natural gas production and exports, two people close to the talks said.

Guyanese officials are now weighing whether to shrink a planned LNG project or skip exports altogether and use ‌the gas for domestic power and petrochemical facilities only. It would deal a blow to the South American nation's ambitions to become a regional energy powerhouse as it continues to grow oil and gas output. Guyana has been pushing a consortium led by Exxon, which controls all of the country's crude and gas production, to deliver as much gas as possible so that the nation can monetize its reserves, which ‌rank among the largest in the region.

But the Exxon group, which also includes Chevron and China's CNOOC, is forecasting it will need about 2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of ‌gas for reinjection into oilfields so it can meet crude output targets at its government-approved projects, the people said. That required volume would constrain supplies for any gas export projects, including a floating LNG facility proposed by Fulcrum LNG, the US developer the government chose in 2024 to build and operate gas infrastructure in the country.

Instead of the 6 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of capacity initially planned, the project may now have to start with up to 3 mtpa and ⁠expand later, the ​people said. Exxon has been working to determine how ⁠much gas its fields can produce and supply, at what cost and on what timeline, one of the people said.

Guyana has been seeking greater clarity from Exxon on available gas supplies, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat told Reuters in an ⁠interview earlier this year. He declined to comment this week on the status of talks. The government has yet to make a final decision on what it will do with the reduced amount of available gas, ​frustrating potential investors, the people said. Scaling back the LNG project is the most likely plan, they added.

President Irfaan Ali's administration is focused on getting a much-needed gas-fired power plant ⁠running soon, one of the people said. Other industrial projects are likely on the back burner for now, including a proposed bauxite-to-alumina refinery, fertilizer production and large data centers. "We're working with the government of Guyana on development plans that maximize resource recovery ⁠and ​value to the country," an ExxonMobil spokesperson told Reuters on Monday.

Gas development in Guyana requires supply and demand to be developed at the same time, the spokesperson added. Fulcrum did not respond to a request for comment.

With a base of almost 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable resources and plans for up to eight offshore developments by 2030, Exxon's Stabroek block ⁠in Guyana is the crown jewel of its portfolio and a major engine of growth for the economy of Guyana, among Latin America's least developed countries. The country has emerged as a notable ⁠oil and gas producer in recent years following the ⁠discovery of large offshore fields in the last decade.

Exxon's fifth floating output facility arrived in Guyana in August, which is expected to begin operations before year-end. In May, the group applied for government approval for Haimara, its ninth project in the country, which along with the eighth project, Longtail, ‌is expected to develop non-associated gas ‌and condensate.