Dutch company providing new subsea equipment for Yellowtail project

Jul 21, 2022 News

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– first delivery targets Liza Phase 2

By Zena Henry

Kaieteur News – As Guyana races ahead with its oil and gas sector development, the country’s Stabroek Block operator, ExxonMobil subsidiary, Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Ltd. (EEPGL), is set to utilise new subsea equipment that will push oil and gas development in the upcoming Yellowtail project – the largest in nation’s oil and gas industry so far.

Yellowtail was expected to come on stream by 2025, after the development of the Payara field which was set for 2023. However, determined to accelerate the oil industry development locally, positive prospects have seen the field being scheduled for a 2024 development especially since the Stabroek Block partners have declared their intension to add on a Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) every year after the deployment of the Prosperity FPSO which is currently under construction for use in the Payara Field.

The Stabroek Block operator is nonetheless preparing to install the subsea water alternating gas (WAG) jumper made by the Netherlands based, Strohm’s Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP). The equipment will first be installed on the Liza Phase 2 project offshore Guyana, replacing previously used steel jumpers. Strohm said that it is the first time the equipment will be used in South America and Guyana is also the first to implement the technology which provides injection services. “In a first for the Americas region, ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Ltd (“EEPGL”) is set to install a subsea water alternating gas (WAG) jumper made from Strohm’s Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP) on the Liza Phase 2 project in Guyana,” the company said in a public statement.

It said that the implementation of the equipment will be followed by “a multi-jumper deployment campaign on EEPGL’s and its co-venturers’ Yellowtail project using the TCP market leader’s ‘Jumper on Demand’ procurement model.” The ‘Jumper on Demand’ procurement model, it said, takes advantage of volume cost savings in the entire supply chain and involves shipping a continuous section of pipe to the in-country site where it is subsequently cut to length, terminated, and tested by the client.

It added that what is provided is an enhanced oil recovery process whereby water injection and gas injection are carried out alternately for periods of time to provide better sweep efficiency and reduce gas channelling from injector to producer. This process is used mostly in CO2 floods to improve hydrocarbon contact time and sweep efficiency of the CO2, the company said.

It noted further that under a recently established long-term agreement framework contract with EEPGL as operator, “Strohm has delivered the TCP Jumper for a planned installation this year. As well as marking the first use of TCP in South America, it will also be one of the first for Strohm’s Carbon Fibre PA12 TCP material group of pipes.” The company related that the Liza Phase 2 TCP Jumper, which will be used in place of a steel jumper, will be installed in deep-water at depths of approximately 1,700m, and will be utilised for water and gas injection services for the operator’s high pressure well injection application. The award of the jumper, it said, follows on from a successful feasibility engineering project and qualification programme for TCP.

Where the Liza field award for the WAG jumper is concerned, Strohm said it was also awarded “a contract to supply Carbon Fibre PA12 TCP for all WAG jumpers to be delivered to the Yellowtail project in 2024.”

Gavin Leiper, vice president Americas (excluding Brazil) for Strohm, said, “This first award in the Americas for such a prestigious project as Liza Phase 2 has made everyone at Strohm extremely proud, with the additional contract for ‘Jumper on Demand’ for Yellowtail giving true credibility to the advantages and increasing popularity of TCP around the world”. This is testament to the multi-disciplined work carried out to date by the company, where every aspect of the jumper design, delivery, and installation has been reviewed, assessed, and agreed. “We are very pleased to be supporting this exciting regional first deployment,” the Dutch agency posited.

It said that Strohm is a leading manufacturer of TCP with a long track record. The technology provides a strong, corrosion free, and field-proven solution for operators around the world. The use of TCP manufactured by Strohm also allows clients the ability to significantly reduce the CO2 footprint of their pipeline infrastructure, the company claimed.  It said that the TCP Jumpers will be manufactured in Strohm’s facility and headquarters in Ijmuiden, Netherlands.

 

 

 

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