MODEC hands out deal for Guyana-bound FPSO to Norwegian firm

Norway-headquartered Miko Marine has been hired by Offshore Frontier Solutions, a MODEC Group company, to supply sea inlet covers to be carried aboard a new floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel destined to work at ExxonMobil’s fifth oil development in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana.

Under the hull closure contract, Miko is tasked with supplying two sea chest covers and two sets of pipe covers, which use powerful magnets to hold them in place over sea chests and pipe outlets. According to the Norwegian player, this enables internal repair and maintenance work to be conducted safely with a reliable solution for keeping the water out.

The sea inlet covers will be provided for MODEC’s FPSO Errea Wittu, which is being built for ExxonMobil’s $12.7 billion Uaru project, sanctioned in April 2023. A ceremony to mark the beginning of construction for the FPSO, which will be deployed approximately 200 kilometers off the coast of Guyana, was held on February 2, 2024. The start-up of the project is targeted in 2026.

Kåre Anthonsen, Business Development Director for Miko, commented: “The company has developed considerable expertise in the design and manufacture of hull closures and cofferdams. The majority of them will feature our unique use of high-power permanent magnets to position and hold each blank in place. They make it possible to achieve an immediate and secure watertight seal for the closures without the need for any other fastening devices to be fitted to the hull.”

With a production capacity of around 250,000 barrels of oil per day, the FPSO Errea Wittu will have an associated gas treatment capacity of 540 million cubic feet per day, a water injection capacity of 350,000 barrels per day, and produced water capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.

This deal enables Miko Marine to join several other players that MODEC has picked for work on the FPSO, including Jumbo Offshore Installation Contractors, SOFEC, ABB, and TMC Compressors.