ExxonMobil taps SBM Offshore for Stabroek FPSO

Dutch FPSO provider SBM Offshore has been awarded contracts by ExxonMobil to perform front end engineering and design (FEED) for a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) for the Payara development project located in the Stabroek block in Guyana.

Liza Destiny FPSO reaching Guyana / Image Source: Hess Corporation
Liza Destiny FPSO reaching Guyana / Image Source: Hess Corporation

SBM said on Thursday that the contract was awarded by Exxon’s subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL, the operator of the Stabroek block. Partners in the block are Hess and CNOOC.

The company added that the contract award would initiate a limited release of funds to begin FEED activities and secure a Fast4Ward hull prior to necessary government approvals and project sanction.

Following the FEED, government approvals in Guyana, project sanction, and an authorization to proceed with the next phase, SBM Offshore will construct, install and then lease and operate the FPSO for a period of up to two years, after which the FPSO ownership and operation will transfer to EEPGL.

The FPSO, to be named Prosperity, will utilize a design that largely replicates the design of the Liza Unity FPSO.

The design is based on SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward program that incorporates the company’s newbuild, multi-purpose hull combined with several standardized topsides modules.

The FPSO will be designed to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day, will have associated gas treatment capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day, and water injection capacity of 250,000 barrels per day.

The Prosperity will be spread moored in a water depth of about 1,900 meters and will be able to store around two million barrels of crude oil.

SBM Offshore also stated that it was exploring options to maximize local content and Guyanese workforce development, building on similar efforts on the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity FPSOs.

SBM Offshore CEO Bruno Chabas said: “We are pleased to report that ExxonMobil has selected SBM Offshore to award contracts for a third FPSO in Guyana, starting with the front-end engineering, to continue the world-class deepwater development in Guyana.

“The successful teamwork with our client ExxonMobil on the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity FPSOs provided a solid foundation for this award. We look forward to continuing to build on our close collaboration with ExxonMobil in order to also make this project a success.”

To remind, SBM officially won a contract to deliver the Liza Unity FPSO for ExxonMobil’s second phase of the Liza development back in May 2019. The company ordered the hull for the vessel, on speculation, in 2017. In October, SBM secured project financing for the Liza Unity for a total of $1.14 billion.

Also, SBM signed a long-term FPSO supply agreement with ExxonMobil, covering potential future FPSO orders in early September.

As for the Liza Destiny, it reached Guyanese waters in late August, 42 days after it set sail from a shipyard in Singapore. The Liza development is expected to start production through the Liza Destiny FPSO in December 2019, which is earlier than expected. First oil was previously expected to be produced in the first quarter of 2020.

It is worth noting that ExxonMobil made 14 discoveries in the Stabroek block with the most recent one being the Tripletail-1 well in mid-September.