Baker Hughes bags ‘major’ deal for ExxonMobil’s Guyana-bound FPSO duo

U.S.-headquartered energy technology giant Baker Hughes has been hired on a multi-year assignment related to two floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels, which are destined to work on upcoming oil projects on the Stabroek block off the coast of Guyana, operated by an affiliate of America’s energy giant ExxonMobil.

Baker Hughes disclosed on February 3, 2025, a long-term contract it described as a “major” and “significant” award with ExxonMobil Guyana, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based ExxonMobil.

This deal enables the firm to provide specialty chemicals and related services for the U.S. oil major’s FPSOs Errea Wittu and Jaguar, featuring a combined 500,000 barrels per day capacity, which will be deployed at the Uaru and Whiptail offshore greenfield developments in Guyana’s prolific Stabroek block.

The multi-year contract encompasses all topsides, subsea, water injection, and utility chemicals for the FPSO duo, which are currently under development. While the FPSO Errea Wittu is targeted to begin production in 2026, the FPSO Jaguar is scheduled to start operations in 2027.

Baker Hughes, which celebrated in 2022 the opening of a multimodal supercenter in Georgetown, also provides a variety of services and equipment to operators in the country, such as turbomachinery for ExxonMobil Guyana’s FPSO fleet and production chemicals for the FPSO Liza Unity.

Amerino Gatti, Executive Vice President of Oilfield Services & Equipment at Baker Hughes, commented: “ExxonMobil Guyana and Baker Hughes share a long history of supporting Guyana’s energy sector, and we look forward to working together to write its next chapter.

“Our experience operating across the country’s energy supply chain and unmatched expertise in oilfield and industrial chemicals make Baker Hughes uniquely suited to support complex FPSO operations such as these.”

TechnipFMC installed its first Subsea 2.0 equipment piece in Guyanese waters for the $12.7 billion Uaru project, which is ExxonMobil’s fifth oil development in the Stabroek block, in the last few weeks of 2024, after winning a similar deal for the U.S. firm’s sixth oil development offshore Guyana in April 2024.

The Uaru and Whiptail projects will include up to 20 drill centers and 92 production and injection wells. As each FPSO will have a capacity of 250,000 barrels per day, these two additions will bring the country’s total daily production capacity to approximately 1.3 million barrels.

Japan’s MODEC disclosed progress in the construction of the FPSO Errea Wittu in October 2024, with the completion of the hull block assembly 40 days ahead of the original schedule. China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC) launched the FPSO at the end of December 2024.

On the other hand, the Netherlands-based SBM Offshore secured $1.5 billion with a consortium of 16 international financial institutions in November 2024 to cover the construction costs of the FPSO Jaguar.

ExxonMobil (45% interest) operates the Stabroek block, spanning 6.6 million acres or 26,800 square kilometers, with its partners, including Hess Guyana Exploration (30%) and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana (25%).

The list of ExxonMobil’s four other projects in Guyana includes Liza Phase 1 and Phase 2, Payara, and Yellowtail. However, wheels have been set in motion to get the required approvals for Hammerhead as the firm’s seventh deepwater oil project in Guyana.

This project will add between 120,000 and 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2029, raising the country’s overall production capacity bar to nearly 1.5 million bpd. Since Hess is in the process of merging with Chevron, the latter may become ExxonMobil’s new partner this year.

Hess and Chevron passed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) antitrust review. However, the completion of the merger remains subject to closing conditions, including the satisfactory resolution of ongoing arbitration over preemptive rights in the Stabroek block joint operating agreement.

Meanwhile, Baker Hughes recently won a deal with Venture Global for LNG equipment and signed a multi-year services frame agreement for the latter’s LNG terminal in Louisiana.