New job on ExxonMobil’s seventh oil project takes ABL to Guyana

March 11, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

ABL, part of Oslo-listed global consultancy group ABL Group, has landed an assignment at an offshore oil project in Guyana’s Stabroek block, which is operated by ExxonMobil Guyana, a subsidiary of the U.S.-headquartered ExxonMobil.

FPSO; Source: MODEC — FPSO illustration; Source: MODEC

ABL has been hired to provide marine warranty survey services for the marine operations and installation activities on ExxonMobil’s Hammerhead development, which is intended to be the seventh of multiple developments in the Stabroek block, approximately 200 kilometers offshore Guyana, in water depths ranging from 850 to 1,725 meters.

The project, for which a $6.8 billion investment was unveiled, entails 18 production and injection subsea wells and the deployment of a spread-moored floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) that will offload directly to conventional export tankers in a tandem mooring configuration.

The produced gas will be transferred to the gas-to-energy pipeline system for disposition at either the Unity facility or the onshore gas-to-energy plant. The project will be managed out of the ABL Houston office with support from the firm’s worldwide network of group offices, including Calgary, Paris, Rotterdam, and Rio de Janeiro.

David Ballands, ABL’s Director of Energy Services in the Americas, commented: “The Hammerhead project will be a follow-on from our involvement with ExxonMobil’s Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara, Yellow Tail and Uaru. All are similar projects in the same development block, with the same philosophy and installation method. Our Hammerhead team blends fresh technical insight with continuous, in-country experience in Guyana.”

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Project & Tenders

ABL claims that the offshore campaign will be performed during 2027 and 2028. The company has a long-standing relationship with ExxonMobil, having delivered marine warranty survey services on more than 50 projects for the operator and its subsidiaries.

The Stabroek block partners are ExxonMobil (operator with 45% interest), Hess (now part of Chevron, 30%), and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana (25%). MODEC will deliver an FPSO for the Hammerhead project and Saipem will handle the execution of engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) activities.

Guy Noble, Senior Principal Naval Architect at ABL, highlighted: “This extensive history means we are deeply familiar with ExxonMobil’s standards, policies, and supplier expectations. Our consistent performance and reliability have earned us a reputation as a trusted partner in safeguarding offshore operations.”

Hammerhead is envisioned to add between 120,000 and 180,000 barrels per day (bpd), increasing Guyana’s overall production capacity to nearly 1.5 million bpd once it comes online in 2029.