FPSO earmarked for Yellowtail project to set records for SBM

– largest FPSO built by company; has capacity of 2 million barrels

The Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel being built by SBM Offshore for the Yellowtail development offshore Guyana will set records, since it will be the biggest FPSO ever built by the company.

This observation was made by Norwegian consultancy company Rystad Energy, in a statement that also made note of the fact that Guyana will be among several countries that will have projects and FPSOs coming online this year.
“In 2022, fellow South American player Guyana is expected to contribute one FPSO to the global total, with the UK adding two projects. Angola, Australia, China, and Malaysia are forecast to each award one new FPSO contract this year,” Rystad said in its statement.
Rystad also noted the contract oil giant ExxonMobil awarded to Netherlands-based company SBM Offshore to construct the FPSO for the Yellowtail development. According to Rystad, this will be the company’s largest-ever FPSO.
“Elsewhere in South America, ExxonMobil awarded SBM Offshore an FPSO FEED contract for the deep-water Yellowtail development in the Stabroek Block off the coast of Guyana,” Rystad said in its missive.
“The FPSO will be designed to have an oil-processing capacity of 250,000 bpd, a gas-processing capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day, and storage of up to 2 million barrels. When finished, the FPSO will be the company’s largest producing unit ever built.”
SBM was also contracted to construct the Prosperity FPSO vessel that will be used in the Payara development. According to Rystad, the Prosperity and Yellowtail projects will add to Exxon reaching a processing capacity of over 800,00 barrels of oil per day.
“ExxonMobil is currently producing from Stabroek via the Liza Destiny FPSO. The Liza Unity FPSO arrived in Guyanese waters on 26 October, and ExxonMobil expects both units to produce this year. When the Prosperity and Yellowtail projects come online in 2024 and 2025, respectively, ExxonMobil will have a total processing capacity of more than 800,000 bpd in Guyana,” Rystad noted.
The Prosperity will be Guyana’s third FPSO, and is expected to be deployed at ExxonMobil’s Stabroek Block offshore Guyana as part of the Payara oil field development.
Prosperity, which will be able to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day, will have an associated gas treatment capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day and water injection capacity of 250,000 barrels per day. It will be spread moored in a water depth of about 1900 metres, and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil.
The hull for the Prosperity FPSO vessel is complete, and topsides construction activities are ongoing in Singapore with a start-up target of 2024. The first Payara development well was spudded in June 2021, and the offshore SURF installation began last year.
Meanwhile, the second FPSO, Liza Unity, is on target to achieve the first oil in Guyana in 2022. The Liza Unity will have a capacity of 220,000 bpd per day. The vessel arrived in Guyana’s waters last year October.
The Liza Phase 2 development will be supported by a total of six drill centres and approximately 30 wells. This includes 15 production wells, nine water injection wells and six gas injection wells. Phase 2 start-up is expected in early 2022 and will develop approximately 600 million barrels of oil. Liza Phase 2 is expected to cost $6 billion, including a lease capitalisation cost of approximately $1.6 billion for the Liza Unity FPSO.
Yellowtail has been identified as the fourth development project in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana with an anticipated start-up in 2025. Following necessary Government approvals and a final investment decision, this project will develop the Yellowtail and Redtail fields, which are located about 19 miles (30 kilometres) southeast of the Liza developments, and potentially adjacent resources.
These new projects continue to contribute to the advancement of the Guyanese economy. More than 2600 Guyanese are now supporting project activities on and offshore, which reflects an increase of more than 20 per cent since the end of 2019. ExxonMobil and its key contractors have spent over US$300 million with more than 800 local companies since 2015.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 per cent interest.