MODEC picks Dutch contractor for FPSO work on ExxonMobil’s oil development off Guyana

The Netherlands-based heavy lift shipping and offshore transportation & installation contractor Jumbo Offshore Installation Contractors has got a job with Japan’s MODEC on a project for a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is destined to work on ExxonMobil’s fifth oil development in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana.

Jumbo Offshore’s latest contract award is for the pre-installation of the mooring spread of the FPSO Errea Wittu, which will be located on ExxonMobil’s Uaru project – the U.S. energy giant’s fifth development on the Stabroek block offshore Guyana. The oil major sanctioned Uaru in April 2023. This project’s start-up is targeted in 2026. 

The $12.7 billion Uaru development targets an estimated resource base of more than 800 million barrels of oil and includes up to 10 drill centers and 44 production and injection wells. Japan’s MODEC secured a FEED contract for the Uaru FPSO. The firm got the green light to proceed with the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) scope for the FPSO in May 2023.

The vessel, which will have the capacity to store 2 million barrels of oil, will produce approximately 250,000 barrels of oil per day. The FPSO will also come with a gas treatment capacity of 540 million cubic feet per day and a water injection capacity of 350,000 barrels per day.

Igor Rijnberg, Head of Sales and Business Development Subsea at Jumbo Offshore, commented: “The Jumbo Offshore team is very grateful to MODEC for this opportunity. We will use the extensive deep-water mooring installation experience gained over the last years to deliver a reliable, smart and efficient project execution.”

According to Jumbo Offshore, the FPSO mooring system will be supplied by SOFEC, a MODEC Group company, and consists of a total of 19 mooring legs. The Dutch player will use its Fairplayer heavy lift construction vessel, which allows the transport and installation of the 19 suction anchors, 8,800 m of chain sections, and 43,168 m of polyester rope in the minimal amount of installation voyages, simplifying the logistics involved.

Brian Boutkan, Manager of Commerce at Jumbo Offshore, remarked: “On behalf of the entire team, we are very much looking forward to undertaking this project. MODEC can count on Jumbo Offshore’s total commitment to providing a safe and reliable execution. As always, we will be approaching this project as a partner to our client, working in close collaboration with MODEC to ensure the outcome entirely meets their expectations.”

ExxonMobil plans to have six FPSOs on the Stabroek block by year-end 2027, with the potential for up to ten FPSOs to develop the estimated gross discovered recoverable resources of more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent. ExxonMobil Guyana Limited operates the block and holds 45% interest while its partners, Hess Guyana Exploration and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, hold 30% and 25% interest, respectively.

The U.S. oil major began production from its third oil development at the Stabroek block on November 14, 2023, with the start-up of the company’s third FPSO, Prosperity, which was put into operation ahead of schedule.

Currently, Yellowtail, the fourth project off Guyana, is also in progress and will produce approximately 250,000 barrels of oil per day. ExxonMobil is working with the government of Guyana to secure regulatory approvals for a sixth project at the Stabroek block, which is known as Whiptail.