ExxonMobil has applied for environmental authorisation to conduct a 35-well offshore exploration campaign in Guyana, targeting the Stabroek block approximately 193 kilometres off the country's Atlantic coast. The filing, made public by Guyana's environmental regulatory authority in mid-June 2026, marks the formal opening of the legal and public review process required before drilling can commence.

The proposed campaign would run from 2028 through 2033, spanning five years. The regulatory documentation sets out the geographic scope of the project and the total number of wells to be drilled, without specifying individual well locations at this stage of the application process.

The Stabroek block has been the source of more than 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas resources since ExxonMobil and its partners began exploration there in earnest after 2015. That series of discoveries transformed Guyana from a country with no meaningful oil production into one of the fastest-growing producers in the Western Hemisphere within a decade. First oil from the block came in December 2019 through the Liza Phase 1 development, operated by ExxonMobil's subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited.

The consortium operating in the block includes Hess Corporation, which holds a 30 per cent stake, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation, which holds 25 per cent. ExxonMobil, as operator, holds the remaining 45 per cent. The structure of that partnership has been subject to separate legal proceedings following Chevron's proposed acquisition of Hess, with ExxonMobil asserting pre-emption rights over the Hess stake in Stabroek. Those proceedings remain ongoing and are separate from the exploration application filed in June.

Drilling 35 exploration wells over a five-year period reflects the scale of the ongoing resource assessment programme in the block. Exploration wells at this stage of a deepwater campaign are typically used to appraise the extent of already-identified resources or to test new geological targets within the licence area. Commercial production decisions follow separate development approvals and are not the subject of the current environmental filing.

Guyana's environmental regulatory framework requires that companies submit a project summary for public review before receiving authorisation to proceed with offshore drilling. The June 2026 publication of ExxonMobil's application initiates that process. The regulatory body has not indicated a timeline for its determination.

Guyana's oil production has grown rapidly since 2019 and the government has consistently backed continued expansion of the sector. The country's production capacity is currently sustained by three floating production, storage and offloading vessels operating in the Stabroek block, with further development projects at various stages of sanction and construction. The exploration campaign described in the June filing would, if authorised and successful, feed the pipeline of potential future developments beyond the current project slate.

ExxonMobil has not issued a public statement specific to the environmental filing. The application documents, as published by the regulatory authority, provide the primary basis for what is currently known about the scope and schedule of the proposed campaign. Further detail on individual well targets, drilling sequencing, and environmental management plans would typically be submitted as part of the full environmental impact assessment that follows the initial application phase.

The filing represents the earliest formal step in a regulatory process that must be completed before any drilling under this programme can begin. No authorisation has been granted at this stage.

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