Liza opens the door
ExxonMobil's find has opened a new frontier along South America's northeast coast
Guyana's emergence into the spotlight has been swift. In spite of its proximity to oil-and-gas rich Venezuela and Trinidad & Tobago, the tiny South American country's waters had remained almost completely unexplored until 2015. That was when ExxonMobil hit it big at the Liza field, which opened up a multi-billion-barrel frontier. Now the country is racing to first oil. ExxonMobil and its partners Hess and Cnooc-owned Nexen sanctioned the first phase of development at the Liza field in July. Guyanese oil, which is relatively light at around 32°API, is expected to start flowing by 2020, less than five years after the discovery. ExxonMobil and its partners plan to spend some $4.4bn on the i
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
