The FPSO vessel will be capable of producing 250,000 barrels of oil per day, along with an associated gas treatment capacity of 540 million cubic feet per day
In picture, Liza Unity FPSO. (Credit: Lim Weixiang/ SBM Offshore)
SBM Offshore has won a new contract to conduct Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) for a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) for ExxonMobil’s Whiptail development project in Guyana.
Under the terms of the contract, SBM will build and install the FPSO after the fulfilment of certain conditions. This includes FEED, government approval of the development plan and final investment decision by ExxonMobil Guyana, an affiliate of ExxonMobil.
Along with the contract award, ExxonMobil has also released initial funds for FEED activities and committed a Fast4Ward hull for the execution of the Whiptail development.
The company will develop the FPSO vessel leveraging Fast4Ward programme and using a newly build, multi-purpose floater hull with multiple standardised topsides modules.
Once complete, the FPSO will be capable of producing 250,000 barrels of oil per day. It will be able to treat 540 million cubic feet of gas per day and have a water injection capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.
Additionally, the vessel can store around 2 million barrels of crude oil.
SBM Offshore CEO Bruno Chabas said: “We are proud to announce ExxonMobil Guyana has awarded the contracts for a fifth FPSO from SBM Offshore in Guyana.
“This project demonstrates once more the value that our industry-leading Fast4Ward programme brings to our clients and other stakeholders while delivering carbon efficient energy to the world.”
As agreed, the ownership of the vessel will be transferred to the client at the end of the construction period and before the commencement of operations in Guyana.
SBM Offshore will partially fund the construction of FPSO using senior loans. This will be repaid at the time of the FPSO’s transfer to the client.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, SBM Offshore specialises in building and operating offshore floating facilities. It has built FPSO facilities such as Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity and ONE GUYANA.