Exxon moving ahead with designs for Yellowtail FPSO

May 12, 2021 News

…as construction of new shore base to begin in October

Offloading from the Liza Destiny FPSO in the Stabroek Block.

Kaieteur News – Guyanese have been given a month to register their concerns with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over the proposed development of a fourth new oilfield in the Stabroek Block—Yellowtail—but the operator is already in the process of undertaking the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase, for the expected Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for the field.

An example of the drill ship to be used for the development of the oil field to begin at the start of 2024.

Additionally, the company is looking to have engineering and construction for a new shore base to support the venture to begin by October of this year.
The information can be gleaned from the project summary that was submitted to the EPA over the weekend. According to ExxonMobil’s timeline for the project development, the FEED aspect for the FPSO commenced in April of this year and is scheduled to be completed by the end of October, at which point in time the new shore base is set to begin construction.
Additionally, the company has also commenced the FEED phase of the subsea system comprising flow lines, risers and umbilicals. Saipem, is the company that has been contracted in the past to provide the subsea systems for the ExxonMobil-led Stabroek Block operations with the company’s vessel currently installing the said facilities for the arrival of the Liza Unity FPSO next month. SBM Offshore is the company that had secured the contracts for the construction and leasing of the FPSOs for the Stabroek Block and is currently working apace on the Prosperity FPSO for the third field development, Payara.
As it relates to the new FPSO, ExxonMobil, in its project summary envisions the final engineering will be completed by the end of next year at which point in time its fabrication and integration is set to commence. The shore base construction is also expected to be completed at the end of next year, after which the facility is expected to begin supporting the development drilling earmarked to begin at the start of 2024 and is expected to last about two years. Production however, is pegged to begin at the end of 2025 with development continuing in tandem with production.
The FPSO and subsea systems are planned to be hooked up and commissioned in the months leading up to the start of production. The proposed FPSO, according to ExxonMobil will be a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) size floating facility with double hull protection.
The vessel is said to be some 1,115 feet long by 197 feet wide by 108 feet deep and will be moored on location, approximately 200 km offshore, similar to Liza Destiny. It will have a production capacity of approximately 220,000 barrels and 250,000 barrels of oil per day and during the early stage of production operations, the project is anticipated to produce an average of approximately 6,600,000 to 7,500,000 barrels of crude oil per month. The FPSO, ExxonMobil said, will have an oil storage capacity of approximately two million barrels of oil within its hull and its mooring system will be designed to keep the FPSO on station continuously for at least 20 years.
According to ExxonMobil, at peak production during Yellowtail’s operation, the FPSO will offload oil to conventional tankers approximately every four to six days and a conventional tanker will be held in position with the assistance of tugs to maintain a safe separation distance from the FPSO.
The FPSO for Yellowtail Development Project will be located approximately 28 km from the FPSO for Liza Phase I, Liza Destiny FPSO; 20 km from Liza Phase II, Liza Unity FPSO; and approximately 40 km from the FPSO for Payara, Prosperity.