Installation of subsea gas-to-energy pipes to start by next month

– as sub-contractor requests EPA licence for bunkering vessels

With a fleet of up to 20 vessels and barges, Dutch sub-contractor Van Oord Offshore and its Luxembourg partner Subsea 7 will begin laying subsea pipes for the gas-to-energy project by no later than next month.

It was explained in an application to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that Van Oord was seeking approval of a licence to store, transport and distribute fuel from their vessel, the Sayan Polaris, to their offshore fleet laying the pipes.
The company had been awarded the contract back in 2022 by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, to install 12.75” gas pipelines. The pipeline will measure approximately 195 kilometres from the gathering location to the landing location.
It was explained that implementing the project will start in the current second quarter, using shallow water pipelay vessels, pipe supply vessels, crane barges, survey and supply vessels, and specialised ships that will lower the pipeline below the sea bed.
Applications were also made for similar licences for the Ella F and Coastal Challenger by Van Oord. All three vessels have certified fuelling stations on board, which will be used to provide fuel for the other ships.
The applications acknowledged the potential risk of an oil spill in offshore bunkering but noted that this was unlikely. According to the company, it will strive to maintain preventative measures and reduce the possibility of such a spill, through its management and mitigation measures.
“These measurements shall include but are not limited to the following: Project Spill Prevention Plan (provided in support of this application); Rigorous Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) for offshore bunkering; Bunkering procedure and checklist; Bunkering Manual (provided in support of this application); Induction and training of crew.”
“Van Oord’s objective is to minimise and prevent risks to the environment; However, in the highly unlikely event of a spill, the vessel Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) provides spill response details and the Ella F along with all vessels in the fleet shall be equipped with SOPEP spill kits and equipment. Training drills will be conducted with all vessel crews with respect to spill prevention and response,” Van Oord further explained.
The scope of Guyana’s gas-to-energy project consists of the construction of 225 kilometres of pipeline from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where Exxon and its partners are currently producing oil.
It features approximately 200 kilometres of a subsea pipeline offshore that will run from the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block to the shore. Upon landing on the West Coast Demerara shore, the pipeline would continue for approximately 25 kilometres to the NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
The pipeline would be 12 inches wide, and is expected to transport per day some 50 million standard cubic feet (mscfpd) of dry gas to the NGL plant. The pipeline’s route onshore would follow the same path as the fibre optic cables and will terminate at Hermitage, part of the Wales Development Zone (WDZ) which will house the gas-to-shore project.
In Budget 2023, the gas-to-energy project received a $43.3 billion allocation. This allocation is in addition to the $24.6 billion injected into the start-up of the transformational project, which includes the construction of an Integrated Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) Plant and the 300-megawatt (MW) Combined Cycle Power Plant at Wales, WBD.
The NGL and 300 MW power plant components of the gas-to-shore project, are meanwhile expected to cost US$759.8 million and will be financed through sources that include budgets and loan financing.