SBM Offshore lands $750M loan for Liza FPSO

SBM Offshore gas completed the project financing of Liza FPSO, to be deployed offshore Guyana, for a total of $720 million. The Dutch company has obtained the cash from a consortium of twelve international banks. 

The Liza FPSO will be owned and be operated by SBM Offshore, and will, once completed, be used by Exxon Mobil for oil production from the Liza oil field in Guyana. The lease and operate contract includes an initial period of ten years with extension options up to an additional ten years.

The FPSO is designed to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day, will have associated gas treatment capacity of circa 170 million cubic feet per day and water injection capacity of circa 200,000 barrels per day.

To be constructed by Keppel in Singapore, the converted Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) FPSO will be spread moored at the Liza field located in the Stabroek block circa 200 kilometers offshore Guyana, in water depth of 1,525 meters and will be able to store 1.6 million barrels of crude oil.

Exxon’s subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds a 45 percent interest in the Stabroek block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds a 30 percent interest, and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds a 25 percent interest.

Liza development

The Stabroek block, which contains the Liza field, covers almost 27,000 square kilometers, approximately 193 kilometers offshore

SBM Offshore was awarded a contract to supply the FPSO unit for the Liza discovery back in December last year. TechnipFMC was put in charge of providing the engineering, manufacture, and delivery of subsea equipment for the project in April and Saipem was awarded a contract to deliver the SURF package for the project in May this year.

Exxon made a final investment decision to proceed with the first phase of development for one of the largest oil discoveries of the past decade in mid-June.

Gross recoverable resources for the Stabroek block are estimated at 2 billion to 2.5 billion oil-equivalent barrels, which includes Liza and other successful exploration wells on Liza Deep, Payara and Snoek.

Production is expected to begin by 2020, less than five years after discovery of the field. Phase 1 is expected to cost just over $4.4 billion, which includes a lease capitalization cost of approximately $1.2 billion for the FPSO unit.

Offshore Energy Today Staff