Japanese ship builder issues IFB for flotel to support Exxon’s project

Apr 03, 2024 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

Field development: Mode Chairman, Takeshi Kanamori. (Photo: MODEC)

⁃ Company earned US$823M from Guyana last year

Kaieteur News – Japanese ship builder, MODEC who earned some US$823 million from its contract with ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) last year has launched a tender process.

MODEC is responsible for the construction of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) for Exxon’s Uaru development in the Stabroek Block. The fifth FPSO, Errea Wittu is MODEC’s first project in Guyana that represents a significant addition to the company’s portfolio.

Upstream Online recently reported that MODEC recently issued an Invitation for Bids (IFB) for a flotel equipped with an accommodation block for at least 150 berths. The Japanese floater specialist is looking to contract an accommodation vessel for the Uaru project in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana. Contractors are invited to submit offers on April 4.

Construction on the vessel commenced earlier this year. The Errea Wittu FPSO is scheduled for first oil in 2026. The vessel will be designed to process approximately 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), it also has the capacity for gas treatment (540 million cubic feet per day), water injection (350,000 barrels per day), and handling produced water (300,000 barrels per day).

Notably, MODEC will also provide the operation and maintenance services for this unit at least 10 years from its first oil production. MODEC said it is solely engaged in construction of floating, production, storage and offloading systems for oil and gas productions and various related services as single business. Last year the company earned a total of US$3.6 billion.

In its 2023 financial presentation, the company noted that profit increased significantly due to good progress in the construction work of new engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) projects, and improved asset integrity of its older Brazil FPSO vessels.

It said that EPCI works recorded good progress, including FPSOs awarded in 2023, namely ExxonMobil Uaru and Equinor Raia in Brazil.

Exxon’s Uaru project is the top EPCI revenue generator for the Japanese ship builder. In addition to the Uaru project in Guyana, MODEC’s 2023 financials were supported by three other significant EPCI projects, namely the Raia, Bacalhau, and Sangomar FPSOs, contributing to a total EPCI earnings of approximately US$2.5 billion for the year.

From Raia, Bacalhau, and Sangomar projects, MODEC earned US$532 million, US$516 million, and US$450 million, respectively. The Raia and Bacalhau projects were commissioned by Equinor in Brazil, and the Sangomar project was ordered from MODEC by Woodside Energy for Senegal.

The Guyana FPSO also has the highest oil production design capacity of them all. The FPSO Sangomar is designed to produce 100,000 barrels of oil per day, with a storage capacity of 1.3 million barrels and a gas production capability of 130 million standard cubic feet per day. In Brazil, the FPSO Bacalhau is set for first oil in 2025, with a capacity to produce 220,000 barrels of oil and 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. The Raia FPSO, aiming for first oil in 2027, will have a similar storage capacity with an output of 125,000 barrels per day.

Moreover, MODEC has contracted three Guyanese companies – Guyana Oil and Gas Support Services (GOGSS), Asequith Guyana, and ZECO Group of Services – to provide fabrication services for the vessel, with the prospect of further local collaboration, partnership, and multiple spin-off benefits. The FPSO will be deployed approximately 200 kilometers offshore Guyana, at a water depth of 1690 meters and it will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil.

Bacalhau, Japanese, project, Raia, Sangomar projects

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