The 120,000 barrels per day Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel has sailed into Guyana waters where installation activities will soon get underway in preparation for first oil, just months away.
“This is a historic and momentous occasion for the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and all Guyanese. The FPSO’s arrival means that we are no more just talking about first oil. First oil is on the horizon. The Liza Destiny’s arrival means that our timetable has moved forward and, as a policy-related body, we are also called upon to advance our timetable,” Director of Guyana’s Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe said.
He added, “As Guyanese, we should begin to recognise that it is a vessel that will be paid for by Guyanese, pumping Guyanese fuel which will be bringing in revenue for Guyanese to help our country to ultimately be transformed positively from an economic development perspective. It is imperative that as Guyanese we begin to appreciate that the direct and the indirect benefits that emanate from this sector goes far beyond anything that we have seen thus far.”
Also commenting on the arrival of the vessel, ExxonMobil Guyana Country Manager, Rod Henson said, “It’s exciting to have another significant milestone completed as we continue on the road to first oil.”
More than 1,000 Guyanese have been working on projects that culminated with the completion of the country’s first floating oil production complex which was commissioned in Singapore before making its more than 11,000 nautical miles journey to the South American country.
“While we still have a great deal of work ahead of us, I’m extremely proud of our entire team, both onshore and offshore, and their focus on working safely and being protective of the environment in all that we do,” Henson added.
After clearing customs, the vessel will be connected to the spread mooring before hookup and installation begins in preparation for production, storage and offloading of Guyana’s oil.
According to Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), the installation operation for the Liza Destiny — which can run until December — will see the use of several vessels including the AHT ALP Defender, AHT ALP Sweeper, AHT ALP Normand Drott, AHT ALP Far Sapphire and PL Norman Installer.
MARAD said the FPSO along with the support vessels will initially be positioned in a staging area for approximately 14 days. On or before September 11, 2019, the FPSO and support vessels will then move from the staging area into the final Liza Phase 1 location.
It was explained that the FPSO, which is 350 metres long and has the capacity to store 1.6 million barrels of oil, will be operating approximately 98 nautical miles from the Coast of Guyana, and covers an area of 11.2 square kilometers.
SBM Offshore, the company that constructed the Liza Destiny FPSO, will be installing, operating and maintaining the vessel.
The Liza Destiny FPSO was converted from the oil tanker, “Tina”, a 1999 Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC). The conversion included upgrading of the hull and integration of 14 topside processing modules, totaling 16 thousand metric tonnes.
This FPSO is a significant component of the Liza Phase 1 development which involves four undersea drill centers with 17 production wells. During normal operations, there will be at least 80 persons living and working onboard the vessel.
ExxonMobil Guyana said it remains on target for first oil by early 2020.
