ExxonMobil has awarded Saipem a $150 million contract to commence subsea engineering work for the proposed Longtail project offshore Guyana, marking a significant step toward the US supermajor's eighth major development in the prolific Stabroek block. The agreement provides Saipem with a limited notice to proceed with engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of subsea infrastructure, including structures, umbilicals, risers, and flowlines (SURF) at water depths of approximately 1,750 meters (5,700 feet) off Guyana's Atlantic coast.

Engineering and procurement activities can begin immediately, but full development hinges on ExxonMobil's final investment decision (FID) for Longtail. Once approved, the full contract is expected to span around four years, with an estimated total value between $750 million and $1.5 billion. ExxonMobil has moved closer to sanctioning Longtail in recent weeks, having submitted an environmental impact study to Guyana's government in March and awarded a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract to SBM Offshore. The operator has indicated that FID could occur by the end of 2024.

Longtail was first discovered in 2018 and is one of 18 discoveries ExxonMobil has made at the Stabroek block, which has become a major offshore hotspot over the past decade. Development has progressed rapidly, with ExxonMobil already producing over 900,000 barrels per day of oil from Stabroek through four floating production, storage, and offloading vessels (FPSOs)—Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity, and One Guyana—at the Liza, Payara, and Yellowtail fields. Three additional FPSOs have been contracted: Errea Wittu for the Uaru field, Jaguar for Whiptail, and the newly named Essequibo 1899 for the Hammerhead field.