Every floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel deployed offshore does more than increase oil output. It also creates decades of work for companies that collect, transport, treat, recycle, and safely dispose of industrial waste generated throughout the life of the project.
With four FPSOs currently operating in Guyana’s Stabroek Block, waste management has become one of the country’s most enduring oil and gas support services.
In 2023, ExxonMobil began developing a comprehensive waste management strategy for its Guyana operations as more offshore projects advanced toward production.
The environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the U.S. oil major’s proposed Longtail project provides a picture of what lies ahead. The assessment shows that drilling, production, commissioning, maintenance, and decommissioning all generate waste requiring specialized handling. While these activities occur offshore, much of the processing takes place onshore through third-party shore bases and local waste management facilities.
Managing industrial waste involves far more than collection and disposal. Operators require services such as hazardous waste transportation, drilling waste treatment, wastewater processing, recycling, vessel tank cleaning, and environmental monitoring, all carried out under strict regulatory requirements.
Several Guyanese companies have already built capabilities in this market. Environmental Technical Solutions (ETS) and Sustainable Environmental Solutions Guyana Inc. (SES), operating from the Guyana Shore Base Inc. (GYSBI), provide hazardous and non-hazardous waste treatment, recycling, thermal desorption, incineration, and wastewater treatment. Oilfield Waste Management Services has also invested in technology that processes drilling waste while recovering reusable oil and water.
But it doesn’t stop there. Earlier this year, SES commissioned iNOVaTHERM™ thermal desorption technology capable of recovering more than 99% of base oil from drilling waste. The recovered oil can be reused, reducing disposal volumes while improving the efficiency of waste treatment operations.
The company, which recently achieved 100% local content in the management and operation of its facility, with Guyanese professionals serving in both technical and leadership roles, said the system is the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.
ExxonMobil is currently producing more than 900,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d) from the Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara, and Yellowtail projects, which are supported by the Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity, and ONE GUYANA FPSOs, respectively.
The company is preparing to bring three more projects online over the next few years. The Uaru development, supported by the Errea Wittu FPSO, is expected to start production in 2026 with a capacity of 250,000 b/d. It will be followed by the Whiptail project, which will use the Jaguar FPSO and produce up to 250,000 b/d, and the Hammerhead project, expected to add another 150,000 b/d of oil production and up to 90 million cubic feet per day of gas production when it comes onstream in 2029.
ExxonMobil operates Guyana’s Stabroek Block with a 45% stake, with co-venturers Hess 30%, and CNOOC 25%. The Stabroek Block’s estimated discovered resource is approximately 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels.
