Twenty-four Guyanese will soon join the more than one thousand nationals already working on ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase 1 Development project in the South American country of Guyana.
The 24 persons, inclusive of two females, will be assigned to the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel that will bring first oil for the country by 2020 at a peak rate of 120,000 barrels of oil per day.
The Liza Destiny is the first of 5 FPSOs expected to be in operation by 2025 with a potential production ramp-up of 750,000 barrels of oil per day. With each FPSO utilizing 100 to 160 persons onboard, more developments provide more opportunity for jobs offshore, although the bulk of benefits to Guyanese from oil and gas will be in spin-off activities.
ExxonMobil Guyana said on Tuesday it is pleased to welcome the Guyanese operations and maintenance technicians to the team.
The group of new employees will receive one week of orientation in Georgetown before departing for 18 months of training at Cape Brenton University, Canada.
“A significant portion of that time will be spent on Advanced Skills Training in four areas – Operations, Electrical, Instrumentation and Mechanical – as well as specific training for oil and gas production operations,” the company said in a statement.
According tom the release, ExxonMobil Guyana’s development model for operations and maintenance employees is designed for trainees to advance from Technician I to III over time. “The intent is to enhance their capacity to such a level that they are able to replace an experienced international worker,” the company stated.
Recruitment of the next set of 50 technicians will begin in early 2020. The Liza Destiny is due in Guyana at the end of the third quarter of 2019, ahead of first oil in 2020.
Several Prime Contractors for the Liza Phase 1 project are ramping up operations ahead of first oil with the establishment of local offices and hiring of Guyanese. ExxonMobil’s unprecedented success in the Stabroek Block, which has resulted in 12 discoveries to date, is also boosting investor interest in the country’s emerging oil and gas sector.
