Hess: First floating platform almost complete; Stabroek Block will need about five

Apr 28, 2019 News

A model of the Liza Destiny.

As the first Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) destined for the development of Guyana’s recently discovered oil riches is expected to set sail from Singapore, Exxon is preparing to sanction two more developments this year.

Hess, Exxon’s partner in the vast Stabroek block off Guyana, said on Thursday that installation of topside modules on the Liza Destiny FPSO was complete, and commissioning activities were underway.

FPSOs can be a conversion of an oil tanker or can be a vessel built specially for the application. A vessel used only to store oil (without processing it) is referred to as a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel.

The Liza Destiny FPSO will be the first FPSO in the Stabroek block where Exxon has made 13 oil discoveries since 2015. The FPSO, set to sail away soon, is slated to arrive in Guyana in the third quarter of 2019. It is expected to start producing up to 120,000 gross bpd by the first quarter of 2020.

The first phase is expected to develop around 500 million barrels of oil.

As for the second Phase of the Liza Development, Hess said a final investment decision is expected soon, subject to Government and regulatory approvals.

The second FPSO, expected to be supplied by SBM Offshore, will have the capacity to produce up to 220,000 gross bpd and is expected to begin producing by mid-2022.

Hess said that a third development, Payara, was expected to be sanctioned late in 2019 with the first production expected in 2023. The Payara development is expected to have the capacity to produce between 180,000 and 220,000 gross bpd from a third FPSO.

It has previously been said that the Stabroek block could need “up to five FPSOs” to develop the discoveries made. However, with what seems to be a never-ending string of discoveries in the block, with Exxon last week announcing its 13th find, Hess now says there could be “at least five,” FPSOs needed.

In a conference call on Thursday, John Hess, CEO of Hess Corp said, “We have now made 13 significant discoveries on the block since 2015, which will underpin at least five floating production storage and offloading vessels to produce more than 750,000 gross barrels of oil per day by 2025.

Gross discovered recoverable resources on the block are estimated to be more than 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent with multibillion barrels of future exploration potential remaining.”

ExxonMobil subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator of the Stabroek Block and holds 45 percent interest.

Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest, and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds the remaining 25 percent interest. (www.offshoreenergytoday.com)

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