WATCH: SBM Offshore FPSO getting ready to sail toward ExxonMobil’s Guyanese oil project next year

Dutch FPSO operator SBM Offshore has tucked a new milestone under its belt with the completion of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel’s final module lifts at Seatrium’s yard in Singapore. This FPSO will work on ExxonMobil’s fourth oil project in the Stabroek block off the coast of Guyana.

ExxonMobil sanctioned its fourth project within the Stabroek block, called the Yellowtail development project, which comprises six drill centers and up to 26 production and 25 injection wells, in April 2022 and followed it up with a contract confirmation with SBM Offshore for the supply of the FPSO One Guyana.

Several months later, the construction of topside modules for the vessel began with two steel strike ceremonies held in both Keppel FELS and Dyna-Mac yards in September 2022 to mark the occasion. Constructed for ExxonMobil Guyana, the FPSO is set to join three other SBM Offshore-operated FPSOs – Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, and Prosperity – in Guyanese waters in 2025.

The FPSO One Guyana, with a design incorporating the Dutch player’s Fast4Ward program, entered drydock in March 2023 at the Keppel yard. Almost a year later, the FPSO left drydock and arrived along the quayside at the Seatrium yard in Singapore.

While highlighting the progress made in putting all the pieces together to make the FPSO One Guyana ready for work on ExxonMobil’s Yellowtail field offshore Guyana, SBM Offshore reveals that the vessel has moved to the integration and commissioning phase.

This achievement comes after the last module lift was done on time with over 25 million work hours completed without any lost time injury (LTI). As a result, the integration and commissioning activities are underway for a safe quay side departure in early 2025.

The Dutch player also confirms that the SBM Installation team has completed offshore campaign 1, including the installation of anchors and mooring lines pre-lay. The FPSO will perform produced water treatment functions alongside oil separation and gas injection.

With an optimum production capacity of 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, a storage capacity of 2 million barrels of crude oil, a gas treatment capacity of 450 million ft³ a day, and a water injection capacity of 300,000 bpd, the FPSO One Guyana has been designed to be anchored in water depths of around 1,800 meters.

Progress made in bringing FPSO One Guyana to life

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The Stabroek block covers 6.6 million acres or 26,800 square kilometers and is operated by ExxonMobil’s affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana with a 45% interest. The company’s partners in the block are Hess Guyana Exploration (30%) and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana (25%).

Based on the U.S. oil major’s plans, six FPSOs with a gross production capacity of more than 1.2 million barrels of oil per day are expected to be online on the Stabroek block by the end of 2027, with the potential for up to ten FPSOs to develop the estimated gross discovered recoverable resources of over 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

SBM Offshore is also constructing the FPSO Jaguar for ExxonMobil’s Whiptail oilfield development, which is the U.S. energy giant’s sixth project in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana located at a water depth of approximately 2,000 meters.

This project will develop the Whiptail, Pinktail, and Tilapia fields, along with potential additional resources, should they be feasible and economically viable. After securing regulatory approvals, ExxonMobil made a final investment decision (FID) to develop the project in April 2024, putting SBM Offshore in charge of front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for the FPSO Jaguar. 

TotalEnergies also recently made a hull reservation with the Dutch player for an FPSO unit, which will be deployed at its oil project in Block 58 off the coast of Suriname.