When oil and gas flows from ExxonMobil Guyana’s Stabroek Block, it travels through systems built and installed by a small group of specialized contractors. These companies are the backbone of subsea operations.
TechnipFMC is one of the leading players. It supplies the equipment installed on the seabed, including subsea trees and manifolds, which regulate how oil and gas move from wells. Without this equipment, production cannot start. TechnipFMC has an unbroken run of subsea awards from ExxonMobil in Guyana, having been given all the contracts for the operator’s subsea production systems since Liza 1 in 2017, all the way up to the Hammerhead project award last year.
Saipem focuses on the hands-on installation. Its vessels lay flowlines across the seabed and attach risers that carry hydrocarbons up to the floating production vessels. Saipem’s work ensures the network functions safely and reliably in water deeper than 1,500 metres. Like TechnipFMC, Saipem has a record executing work for all of Exxon’s major projects offshore Guyana. Notably, Saipem said last year that it completed the first complex subsea structure ever built in Guyana. The pipeline end termination (PLET) it completed will be part of the subsea system transporting gas for reinjection at the Uaru project, which will begin oil production later this year.
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Subsea 7 installed 119 kilometers of pipe on the seafloor for the Gas-to-Energy project in 2024, its first award in Guyana. The company is positioning the Subsea Integration Alliance (SIA) as a core delivery model for offshore developments in countries like Guyana. SIA is a global strategic alliance that combines the subsea engineering, construction, and installation capabilities of Subsea7 with the subsea production systems business of SLB, another key player in Guyana’s oil and gas industry.
Saipem and Subsea7 have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a potential merger, aiming to create a dominant player in the subsea and offshore engineering and construction (E&C) sector.
Together, these companies turn seabed infrastructure into a fully operational production system. Their work is highly technical, requiring specialised vessels, heavy-lift cranes, and remotely operated vehicles. Even a small error can delay production, so precision is critical.
These contractors are among the first teams to mobilize on a new development. Since ExxonMobil began production in 2019, subsea contractors have been active across multiple developments in the Stabroek Block, including Liza, Payara and Yellowtail, and continue to play a key role in newer projects.
