ExxonMobil Guyana lets FEED contract for Whiptail development project

ExxonMobil Guyana Ltd. has let a contract to SBM Offshore to perform front-end engineering and design (FEED) for a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO) for the Whiptail development project offshore Guyana.

Following FEED and subject to government approvals in Guyana of the development plan, project sanction including final investment decision by the ExxonMobil Corp. affiliate to release the second phase of work, SBM Offshore will construct and install the FPSO, the service provider said in a release Oct. 13.  

ExxonMobil discovered oil at Whiptail in 2021, adding to the block’s previous recoverable resource estimate of 9 billion boe (OGJ Online, July 28, 2021). 

Whiptail-1 well encountered 246 ft (75 m) of net pay in high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs and was drilled in in 5,889 ft (1,795 m) of water. Whiptail-2 well encountered 167 ft (51 m) of net pay in high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs. Whiptail-2 was drilled in 6,217 ft (1,895 m) of water.

SBM Offshore will design and construct the FPSO using its seventh new build, multi-purpose floater hull, combined with several standardized topsides modules. The FPSO will be designed to produce 250,000 b/d of oil, will have associated gas treatment capacity of 540 MMcfd, and water injection capacity of 300,000 b/d.

The FPSO will be spread moored in water depth of about 1,630 m and will be able to store around 2 million bbl of crude oil.

FPSO ownership is expected to be transferred to ExxonMobil at the end of the construction period and before start of operations in Guyana. Construction costs are expected to be partially funded by senior loans which will be repaid at the time of the FPSO’s transfer.

This is the fifth FPSO awarded to SBM Offshore by ExxonMobil, following FPSOs Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity, and ONE GUYANA.