Latest update February 24th, 2025 9:02 AM
Exxon’s purchase of FPSOs helps shipbuilder with record profit for 2024
Kaieteur News- Dutch company, SBM Offshore, a leading player in the floating production sector, last week reported record revenues for 2024, with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Øivind Tangen attributing the strong performance in part to its operations in Guyana.
The company announced record-level directional revenue of US$6.1 billion and an all-time high directional EBITDA of US$1.9 billion for 2024.
One of SBM’s FPSO that was purchased by ExxonMobil Guyana
Tangen said the company’s 2024 record profit reflects three new awards and the purchases of two floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, Prosperity and Liza Destiny by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL).
“Thanks to the addition of three new awards, we ended the year with a record US$35.1 billion backlog. From this we expect to generate US$9.5 billion net cash, equivalent to almost 52 euro per share2…” he added. SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward® program continues to drive deepwater development, with FPSO ONE GUYANA among the three FPSO vessels set to commence operations in 2025.
Notably, the company attributed its 35% revenue increase in 2024 to several factors, including the sale of FPSOs Prosperity and Liza Destiny, awarded contracts for FPSOs Jaguar, for ExxonMobil Guyana and GranMorgu.
SBM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Øivind Tangen
Directional Lease and Operate revenue rose to US$2.37 billion, marking a 21% increase. Tangen highlighted the impact of ExxonMobil Guyana’s acquisitions, stating, “This increase is driven by the Directional Turnkey revenue which rose to US$3.74 billion in 2024 compared with US$2.58 billion in 2023… the sale of FPSOs Prosperity and Liza Destiny completed respectively in November and December 2024.”
With new opportunities emerging in Guyana, Brazil, Suriname, and Namibia, SBM Offshore expects strong growth in the coming years. The company sees 16 large FPSO projects in its pipeline over the next three years.
Exxon acquired FPSOs Prosperity and Liza Destiny by the second half of 2024, ahead of the end of their maximum lease terms in November 2025 and December 2029, respectively. Currently, EMGL has three FPSOs operating offshore, all from SBM. In 2023, Exxon purchased its first FPSO from SBM, the Liza Unity. The cash transaction for the three vessels totals just over US$3 billion: US$1.23 billion for Prosperity, US$1.3 billion for Liza Unity and US$535 million for Liza Destiny.
With the acquisition, ExxonMobil Guyana assumes ownership of the units, although SBM Offshore will continue to operate and maintain the FPSOs for several years.
FPSO Prosperity has been operational since November 2023 and will continue to function through an integrated operations and maintenance model that combines SBM Offshore and ExxonMobil’s expertise for high-performance operations. Designed to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day, Prosperity also has a gas treatment capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day and a water injection capacity of 250,000 barrels per day. The vessel, which is spread-moored at a depth of about 1,900 meters, can store around 2 million barrels of crude oil. It measures 342 meters in length, 60 meters in width, and 25 meters in height, with a minimum operational lifespan of 20 years. Approximately 4,000 individuals have contributed to the construction of this 110,000-metric-tonne vessel.
The FPSO Liza Destiny has been on hire since December 2019 and since 2023 has and will continue to be operated through the integrated operations and maintenance model combining SBM Offshore and ExxonMobil’s expertise and experience delivering outstanding operational performance. SBM’s operation in Guyana includes the FPSOs Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity, and the upcoming One Guyana. Exxon has also engaged Japanese shipbuilder MODEC for its fifth FPSO, Errea Wittu and in April, SBM announced it had secured a contract with EMGL to build and install a sixth FPSO, Jaguar, for the Whiptail development.
(Exxon’s purchase of FPSOs helps shipbuilder with record profit for 2024)
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