Guyana a key global FPSO hotspot - Rystad report

Guyana a key global FPSO hotspot – Rystad report

Jul 21, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – With four Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs) landed in Guyana’s waters between 2019 and 2025 and major developments in the making, Guyana has taken the spotlight as a key global hotspot.

Rystad Energy in an FPSO Market Outlook Whitepaper noted that South America continues to dominate the global FPSO pipeline through 2028. The report explained that in Brazil, Petrobras is advancing multiple units across two major programmes while in Guyana, ExxonMobil continues to systematically unlock resources at its Stabroek Block. The report highlights three new FPSOs planned for Guyana in 2026 (Longtail), 2027 (Haimara) and 2028 (Bluefin).

Guyana a key global FPSO hotspot - Rystad report

Guyana’s fourth FPSO ‘One Guyana’

To date seven projects have been approved in Guyana, with four vessels already producing oil and three expected to be delivered over the next three years.

According to Rystad, “In 2024 and 2025 alone, six new units were sanctioned across Brazil, Guyana and Suriname, in addition to two redeployment contracts, reinforcing the region’s position as the backbone of global FPSO contracting.”

Meanwhile, between 2020 and 2025, eight awards were documented in Asia, across China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Another eight are planned for the period 2026 to 2028.

The report highlights Africa emerging as the next frontier and North America for making “a quiet comeback after years of absence”.

“Notably absent from the forward pipeline is the Middle East, which has recorded no FPSO awards in the current cycle and has none projected through 2028, reflecting the region’s structural preference for fixed platforms and onshore processing infrastructure,” the report added.

Rystad said 2024 was a breakout year for FPSO capital expenditure (capex), with greenfield surface capex hitting $15.3 billion – the highest in the data set. Spending dropped to $6.9 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $14.3 billion in 2026, with new FPSOs planned for Guyana and Brazil. Rystad projects about $10.8 billion to be spent per annum during 2026 to 2028 on average.

It said ExxonMobil’s Longtail and Bluefin projects in Guyana, also contribute to a significant share in the greenfield surface capex estimated for the coming years.

Reflecting on 2021 to 2025, the Whitepaper noted that the award cycle was dominated by “very large units”, with both oil and gas capacity surpassing 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd), respectively. Guyana’s Jaguar FPSO under construction was singled out as one of the larger units with an oil production capacity of 250,000 bpd.

Meanwhile, looking ahead, the report said the 2026–2028 pipeline signals a shift towards vessels with smaller production capacity. “Only 7% of expected awards will have oil production capacity above 200,000 bpd, while 14% will exceed 200 MMcfd of gas.These large vessels will continue to dominate in South America, particularly in Guyana, and in new frontiers such as Namibia,” according to Rystad.

The growing demand for FPSOs to be deployed in gas fields was pointed out, particularly in projects producing gas with condensate. Over the past five years, about 10% of awarded FPSOs were allocated to gas or gas-condensate developments. In the coming years, this share is expected to increase to around 20%.

When it comes to the developers, the report states that China has grasped the leading role in construction activity for units on order.

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ExxonMobil, FPSO, FPSO ONE GUYANA, Longtail, Rystad Energy

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