ExxonMobil has awarded a limited notice to proceed to Japanese offshore engineering firm MODEC for the development of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel for its Hammerhead project offshore Guyana, MODEC said on Monday.
The contract is MODEC’s second for ExxonMobil in Guyana, following the Errea Wittu FPSO currently under construction for the Uaru project. The new vessel for Hammerhead is designed to produce up to 150,000 barrels of oil per day and will be moored in waters approximately 1,025 meters deep using a SOFEC spread mooring system.
The agreement is conditional, pending environmental and regulatory approval from the Guyana government. ExxonMobil has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Hammerhead, which has undergone public consultation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now reviewing the application to decide whether to grant an environmental authorization.
ExxonMobil must also obtain a production license for Hammerhead. To do so, it will need to submit a field development plan (FDP) to the government. Once the FDP is submitted, the government is expected to engage an independent consultant, typically UK-based Bayphase, which has reviewed Exxon’s previous projects, to assess the plan before any licensing decision is made.
The project includes plans for a 13-kilometer gas export pipeline that would connect the Hammerhead FPSO to the Gas-to-Energy pipeline. While initial volumes for the Gas-to-Energy project will come from the Liza field, the EIA indicates that Hammerhead will boost volumes available for electricity generation from offshore natural gas.
MODEC’s contract includes two phases. Phase one covers front-end engineering and design (FEED), while phase two comprises engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of the FPSO. The limited notice to proceed allows MODEC to begin early work to support a potential project startup in 2029. The construction and installation phase is contingent on final government approvals and project sanctioning by ExxonMobil and its Stabroek Block co-venturers, Hess Corporation and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited.
MODEC also announced that it has signed an Operations and Maintenance Enabling Agreement for its Guyana fleet, laying the groundwork for the long-term operations and maintenance of multiple FPSOs under a unified contractual structure.
The Hammerhead development would be the seventh in the 6.6-million-acre Stabroek Block, where ExxonMobil has made more than 30 discoveries since 2015.
