Exxon’s Guyana Discovery May Be Twice as Large as Thought

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s oil discovery off the coast of Guyana may hold as much as 1.4 billion barrels, twice the size of the previous estimate, making it potentially worth about $70 billion based on current prices.

The Liza field 120 miles (193 kilometers) from the coast of Guyana is a “world-class discovery” that probably will yield the equivalent of 800 million to 1.4 billion barrels of crude, the Irving, Texas-based company said in a statement on Thursday. Hess Corp., a partner in the field, will see a 39 percent boost in current proved reserves at the upper end of the estimate.

Exxon’s announcement comes as the oil industry emerges from the worst market slump in decades. Since dipping to a 12-year low in January, Brent, the international benchmark for crude has risen nearly 80 percent to about $50 a barrel. The Liza discovery may not add to global oil supplies for years as deepwater finds can take half a decade or more to bring into production.