Exxon's Uaru and Whiptail projects in Guyana are moving ahead of schedule, executive says

By Sheila Dang and Kemol King

GEORGETOWN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil's XOM.N fifth and sixth projects in Guyana - Uaru and Whiptail - are progressing ahead of schedule and under budget, the oil major's president of Guyana operations said on Wednesday during an energy conference.

Alistair Routledge, Exxon Guyana President, declined to provide a specific timeline for startup of the projects, when asked by Reuters.

The Uaru project is currently slated to begin oil production this year, while Whiptail is anticipated to start up in 2027.

Uaru and Whiptail will each produce 250,000 barrels per day. Guyana's overall output will reach 1.15 million bpd when Uaru starts, and 1.4 million bpd when Whiptail comes online.

In a speech at the Guyana Energy Conference, Routledge also outlined an early plan to connect a gas pipeline it has already completed to a new potential pipeline that would deliver gas to Guyana's Berbice region in order to power industrial projects.

Exxon's eighth project, called Longtail - which upon startup in 2030 will be the first to produce non-associated gas - could also be connected to the potential Berbice pipeline, according to a diagram Routledge presented at the conference.

The Guyanese government has been pressing Exxon, which operates the country's prolific Stabroek Block, to design gas projects to help broaden its energy sector beyond oil and power future industries like a data center and fertilizer plants, none of which currently exist.

Progress on the gas development plan will require work from the government to develop industrial sectors to use the gas over the long term and justify the new pipeline, Routledge said, reiterating comments from Exxon's upstream president on Tuesday.