ExxonMobil working to revive faulty Guyana FPSO as plans for Liza gas pipeline move ahead

Following an installation of upgraded and repaired parts on the Liza Destiny FPSO, ExxonMobil is hoping to continue normal operations at its Liza field offshore Guyana once it completes the second phase of testing, which started this week.

ExxonMobil is also moving forward with its gas to energy project in Guyana with plans to bring the gas produced from Liza Phase 1 and 2 to shore.

The project will include a natural gas processing plant, an offshore pipeline from the Liza field in Guyanese waters to the coast, and an onshore pipeline and temporary materials offloading facility at the West Bank of the Demerara River.

The SBM Offshore-owned FPSO Liza Destiny has been producing oil for ExxonMobil from the Liza field since December 2019, less than five years after the first discovery of hydrocarbons.

In January 2021, ExxonMobil encountered technical difficulties with a gas compressor on the Liza Destiny FPSO, which forced the company to temporarily increase the flare above pilot levels in order to maintain safe operations.

Since then, disappointed ExxonMobil has been working with the vessel’s owner, SBM Offshore, and the equipment manufacturer, MAN Energy Solutions, to fix the issue. However, an additional problem with the discharge silencer was encountered and revealed in April, forcing the company to reduce production to a minimum level and minimise the flare.

The discharge silencer was removed later in April for further assessment of the damage and to determine the necessary scope of repairs and/or modifications. It was estimated that repairs or replacement would take about three months.

In May 2021, ExxonMobil said repairs and upgrades to the third stage discharge silencer, a key component of the flash gas compression system for the Liza Destiny, were being progressed by MAN Energy Solutions at a facility in Houston. The company added that the manufacture of a redesigned third stage discharge venturi had been completed and it was being shipped to Guyana.

The plan was for the equipment to be back in Guyana and reassembled for safe start-up in June 2021.

In its next and latest update related to these repairs, ExxonMobil said last Wednesday, 30 June 2021 that the upgraded and repaired discharge silencer of the third stage flash gas compressor and a new venturi were safely installed on the Liza Destiny and the first phase of testing was successfully completed early last week.

The flash gas compression system was started up on 19 June for the first testing phase and was shut down on 28 June in order to remove temporary probes and instrumentation. During the first testing phase, ExxonMobil was able to reduce the flare to the pilot level.

The company noted that initial test results indicated improvements in pulsation dampening performance.

ExxonMobil also said that the second phase of testing would begin on July 4 and that the system would continue into normal operation upon successful completion.

The oil major also noted it had applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval to flare above the pilot level for this extended period of equipment testing.

As previously reported, a new redesigned flash gas compressor is being manufactured and is expected to arrive in the country during the fourth quarter of this year.

It is also worth noting that Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, said in May that ExxonMobil would switch the manufacturer of the compressor equipment for its Unity FPSO, coming in later this year, as well as for the Prosperity FPSO, in early 2024.

When it comes to plans to bring the gas from the Liza field to shore, ExxonMobil is now moving forward with seeking environmental authorisation. Namely, the company has submitted an application to the EPA for the environmental authorisation for the gas to energy project onshore and offshore Guyana.

The project includes the construction, commissioning, and operation of Onshore Natural Gas Liquids and Natural Gas Processing Plant (NGL Plant), which is proposed to be located at the Amsterdam (Demerara River)/Vriesland Area, West Bank Demerara.

It also includes an offshore 12-inch pipeline – about 220 kilometres long – from the Liza Phase 1 and Liza Phase 2 FPSO vessels located within the Stabroek Block off Guyana to La Jalousie/Nouvelle Flanders, West Coast Demerara.

The project summary documents reveal that the infrastructure will initiate at shutdown valves on both the Liza Destiny and Unity FPSO topsides. From this point, a new riser will be installed, leading to a pipeline end termination (PLET) situated on the seabed near the Liza Destiny FPSO.

A subsea pipeline will be installed from the Destiny PLET to a shore landing point with an intra-field pipeline from the Liza Unity FPSO tying into the main export pipeline to shore in the vicinity of the Destiny FPSO at a location to be further assessed and finalized in the future project phases.

The project also consists of an onshore 12-inch pipeline, about 27 kilometres long, and a Temporary Materials Offloading Facility (MOF) at Amsterdam/Vriesland on the West Bank of the Demerara River.

The onshore pipeline will be starting North from the proposed NGL Plant, then West and North again towards Canal No. 2, where it turns West travelling along the canal, before proceeding North across Canal No. 2, through agricultural fields, an additional smaller canal, Canal No. 1 and residences of Canal No. 1, and additional agricultural fields to a point West of La Parfaite Harmonie, Westminister, and Onderneeming.

The route then moves East through agricultural fields and across the West Coast Demerara Highway at a point West of Vreed-en-Hoop/Crane, and northward through agricultural fields and across a road and a pair of canals until reaching the seawall.

The pipeline will transport up to approximately 50 million standard cubic feet per day (MSCFD) of dry gas to the NGL Plant. The power plant will be owned and operated by the Government of Guyana.

The MOF-related work also includes other support works such as associated dredging, in-water construction activities, road construction and improvements, and post-construction restorative works around the entire project area.

The EPA has determined that the project will require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Members of the public are invited to make written submissions to the agency in the period from 27 June until July 25 for questions they want answering related to the project. The public scoping meetings are starting this week.

The startup of the facilities within the gas to energy project is expected to occur in 2024, according to the documents.

In other news related to ExxonMobil’s operations offshore Guyana, the company has failed to find commercial hydrocarbons at its latest well located in the Canje offshore block.

The Jabillo-1 well was dry but the company is now preparing for another well, the Sapote-1 well in the eastern portion of the Canje Block, slated to begin in mid-August and deliver results in October 2021.