Argus Guyana crude assessments and Argus AOM®

Argus has launched Guyanese crude grades on the Argus Open Markets (AOM) platform, bringing transparent price discovery to one of the fastest-growing supply hubs in the Atlantic basin. With a real-time price discovery session that spans European and Americas trading hours, AOM allows for flexibility, broad participation and maximum liquidity.

Guyana exports all its crude output, primarily to refiners in Europe and the US. Production is on course to exceed 1mn b/d by the end of 2026 — having only started as recently as 2019 — with the potential to reach as high as 1.7mn b/d by the end of the decade. This rapid growth is cementing Guyana’s role as an increasingly important and reliable source of Atlantic basin crude supply.

The Guyana launch builds on the successful introduction last year of west African crudes on AOM, which has seen growing industry engagement and use in price formation, further reinforcing Argus’ key role in delivering transparency to global crude markets.

Guyanese crude output began in 2019 at the offshore Stabroek block, led by an ExxonMobil-headed consortium. The US major owns a 45pc stake in the block, with Chevron accounting for 30pc — after acquiring US firm Hess in 2025 — and China’s state-controlled CNOOC the remaining 25pc.

The first successful project was Liza-1, followed by Liza-2, Payara and most recently Yellowtail, which was commissioned in August 2025. Three more projects — Uaru, Whiptail and Hammerhead — are already scheduled and approved. A fourth, Longtail, is pending approval with a scheduled start date before the end of 2030. Guyanese crude projects have so far run ahead of plan in terms of start-up and the quantity of oil delivered.

Four main crude grades are produced in Guyana — Liza, Payara Gold, Unity Gold and the newest, Golden Arrowhead. Importantly, the quality of these grades is medium to light — ranging from 29-37°API gravity — and they are relatively sweet, with sulphur content of 0.25-0.60pc.

This makes Guyanese crudes a key feedstock for transport fuels, including jet and diesel, which are increasingly sought after because of disruption to supply from the Mideast Gulf. It also means that they are more easily consumed in a broader range of refineries, unlike the heavier and sourer crude produced in neighbouring Venezuela.