Steel strike ceremony held for Jaguar FPSO that will service 6th oil development

…3 Guyanese companies fabricating 316 tonnes of steel for vessel

By Jarryl Bryan

A symbolic ‘Steel Strike’ ceremony held on Tuesday at the Guyana Shore base Incorporated (GYSBI), marked the official start of works on various structures and topside modules for the Jaguar Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel that will service the sixth oil development offshore Guyana.
The Jaguar FPSO will be servicing the Whiptail development, ExxonMobil Guyana’s sixth planned development in the Stabroek Block, which has a start-up date in 2027 and will produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day.
Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, who was the keynote speaker at the event, described the milestone as a testament to Guyana’s evolution as an oil and gas producing nation. This is even as three Guyanese companies have been contracted to provide fabrication services for the vessel.
“Today we may be celebrating and congratulating the three companies involved in the manufacturing of another FPSO. But there are so many other companies benefitting from the oil and gas sector today. So many other local companies benefitting,” Bharrat said.
“And we sit here in this compound and this is a testimony too of how Guyanese have evolved and benefitted from this very facility here at GYSBI. So many companies across all sectors have benefitted tremendously and that is exactly what the Government has been working to achieve through our local content law, our secretariat.”

Bharrat congratulated the team at the local content secretariat, led by Dr Martin Pertab, who he noted has been engaging companies to get them compliant with the law. However, there are also challenges and the Minister signaled that a time is coming when the Natural Resources Ministry will be cracking down on companies that are still non-compliant.
“As I mentioned, there are a few challenges. And I just want to say to companies that even though we have been, I don’t want to use the word lenient. We’ve been developing a good working relationship with many companies, to ensure there is compliance with the law, at some point in time, if we need to take harder actions, then we may have to do so.”
“Because it would not only be against the law, but I consider it disrespectful to not work with our local content law. And I know there are a few companies that need to do a lot more, to ensure they’re in compliance with the law,” he said.
According to Bharrat, the secretariat and the Ministry has been working with these companies. He expressed hope that they will put themselves in order. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil Guyana’s President, Alistair Routledge noted that through his company, they have been able to generate back-to-back opportunities for local companies, including in fabrication.
“We know well in the project business, that projects come and go. And that is so much the case in fabrication. You have a contract for a certain amount of work. You execute it. Its done. But in the meantime, you’re looking for what’s the work that comes after that. In Guyana, in the Stabroek block, ExxonMobil has been able to deliver that.”
“With our partners, with SBM, With MODEC as well… its being able to deliver, back-to-back, opportunities in the fabrication space. And now, as we establish a fleet of vessels and larger infrastructure base in the country, we’re also able to use those fabricators for some of the ongoing maintenance,” Routledge further said.
The three local companies who were contracted to provide fabrication services for the vessel are Guyana Oil and Gas Support Services (GOGSSI), Industrial Fabrications Inc. (InFab), and ZECO Group of Services.
GOGSSI is a key player in a joint venture with Trinidad Offshore Fabricators Unlimited (TOFCO). The company was established in 2019 and specialises in providing fabrication services for the oil and gas sector, including onshore and offshore oil and gas fabrication, structural and piping modules development and decks, platforms, and jackets.
Meanwhile, InFab is a steel fabrication company that has been in operation since 2002. InFab was engaged by SBM Offshore Guyana to provide support services, including lighting fixtures, handrails, and cage ladders. It has delivered steel fabrication services to the Prosperity and One Guyana FPSO vessel.
Zeco Group of Services was founded a year before InFab, starting as a small welding and fabrication shop and since evolving into a large-scale fabricator in Guyana. The company is based at Section ‘A’ Plantation, Triumph, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD). Zeco provides services that include general construction, fabrication, machine shop operations and oilfield supplies and services.
To date, 290 tonnes of green steel have been fabricated by local companies for two FPSOs- 50 tonnes for Prosperity FPSO and 240 tonnes for the ONE GUYANA FPSO. This number is expected to increase for Jaguar FPSO, which will see an additional 316 tonnes of steel being fabricated by the local companies. (G3)