…Dutch shipbuilder also reports Jaguar FPSO 25% complete
Dutch company SBM Offshore, which has the contract for constructing the Floating production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for oil giant ExxonMobil’s fourth offshore project, Yellowtail, has confirmed that they are 75 per cent completed with this vessel.
The vessel in question, the “One Guyana” FPSO, is expected to begin producing oil in the second half of next year, with production expected to reach 250,000 barrels of oil per day. SBM was contracted to construct, install and then lease and operate the vessel in 2022.
The ONE GUYANA FPSO under construction
According to SBM in their half year earnings report, work has already been completed on the topside modules, while the integration and commissioning activities are on schedule for completion. As of now, the vessel which is expected to cost US$1.7 Billion based on the project financing SBM had secured in 2022, is 75 per cent completed.
The Yellowtail development is located in the eastern portion of the Stabroek Block, and involves the development of the Yellowtail and Redtail fields. It is scheduled to begin production in 2025 with an estimated investment of US$10 billion.
Further, the development is expected to generate approximately 1,300 jobs across four phases. It has previously been reported that the development plan for Yellowtail includes six drill centres and the drilling of up to 67 development wells.
Whiptail
Meanwhile, SBM also provided an update on the Jaguar FPSO, earmarked for ExxonMobil’s sixth project, Whiptail. The government has said that by the time this FPSO comes online in 2027, Guyana expects to be producing as much as 1.2 million barrels of oil per day.
“As planned, the Fast4Ward MPF hull was launched out of drydock in the second quarter of 2024. First oil is expected in 2027,” SBM said in its update, adding that the Jaguar FPSO was 25 per cent complete.
According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on Whiptail, the project will target between 33 and 72 wells. The documents had further detailed that development drilling is expected to last from late 2024 or early 2025 through mid-2030, with the possibility of extending it as late as 2031.
Installation of subsea components of the project were slated to begin in the second half of 2025 or early 2026. The installation of the FPSO as well as commissioning and start-up, are expected to occur in 2027. The life of the project is expected to last for at least 20 years.
According to the US oil company, the project will employ over 500 persons during drilling and installation. Additionally, between 100 and 180 persons will be employed during production. It was further explained that the Whiptail FPSO will be similar to the one for Yellowtail and will be designed to target 300,000 barrels per day.
There are currently three FPSOs operating in Guyana’s offshore waters: The Liza Destiny, the Liza Unity and the Prosperity. They are respectively working on the Liza One, Liza Phase Two, and Payara projects.
Six FPSOs are expected to be operating offshore Guyana by 2027. The fifth FPSO, which would be named ‘Errea Wittu’, meaning “abundance” in the Warrau Indigenous language, would operate in the Urau project. It would have oil storage capacity of two million barrels, an oil production design rate of 250,000 barrels per day, and be able to offload approximately one million barrels onto a tanker in a period of approximately 24 hours.
This vessel will be delivered by MODEC, a Japanese company which has confirmed construction of this FPSO with a ceremony held on February 2. Start-up of the US$12.7 billion Uaru development is targeted for 2026.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). Exxon, through its local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), holds 45 per cent interest in the block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd had had 30 per cent interest, which it recently sold to Chevron. CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest. (G3)
