SBM Offshore said on Wednesday it completed the project financing of the Liza Unity FPSO for a total of US$1.14 billion. The project financing was secured by a consortium of nine international banks. The Company said it expects to draw the loan in full, phased over the construction period of the FPSO.
The financing will become non-recourse once the FPSO is completed and the pre-completion guarantees have been released. The project loan has a tenor of two years post completion, in line with the duration of the charter, and carries a variable interest cost of London Interbank Offered Rate plus 1.50%.
The construction phase of the Liza Unity is currently underway and follows ExxonMobil’s final investment decision (FID) on the Liza Phase 2 development, in May 2019. This comes in wake of the recent delivery of sister FPSO, Liza Destiny, which arrived in Guyana’s waters from a Singaporean shipyard in late August 2019.
The Liza Unity FPSO design is based on SBM Offshore’s industry leading Fast4Ward® program as it incorporates the Company’s new build, multi-purpose hull combined with several standardized topsides modules. The FPSO will be designed to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day, will have associated gas treatment capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day and water injection capacity of 250,000 barrels per day. The FPSO will be spread moored in water depth of about 1,600 meters and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil.
The Liza field is located 200 kilometers offshore Guyana in the Stabroek block. ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 percent interest, Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 percent interest.
