Dutch floater specialist SBM Offshore is currently operating three oil production vessels offshore Guyana. The company’s Fast4Ward® program, built on an innovative “design one, build many” concept, has been a key driver behind ExxonMobil’s unprecedented project expansion and execution in the South American country.
The Fast4Ward concept was first implemented with the Liza Unity floating, production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), following SBM Offshore’s earlier delivery of the Liza Destiny FPSO for Exxon’s Stabroek Block developments.
This standardization approach has not only transformed SBM Offshore’s operations in Guyana but has also impacted its global projects. Chief Executive Officer, Øivind Tangen, in a recent interview with OilNOW, explained how the Fast4Ward concept is pushing innovation and driving progress forward.
Fast4Ward concept revolutionised offshore projects – SBM Offshore CEO | OilNOW
“SBM designs FPSOs based on our own technical standards. So, we put those standards into a standardization concept through Fast4Ward. With that came a standardized hull on which the [Liza] Unity was built. Then Payara was the subsequent project and then followed a few projects in Brazil, and now the ONE GUYANA, the Yellowtail development.”
Tangen highlighted the program’s focus on rapid knowledge transfer and improvement.
“It gives us an opportunity to drive a lessons-learning process at a very fast pace. As we put one unit into an [engineering, procurement and construction] EPC phase, we bring those learnings into the next because of the standardization. We then put it into operation, carry those operational insights forward, and connect our teams in the process,” he explained.
Liza Unity moving SBM’s Fast4Ward programme ‘from plan to reality’ | OilNOW
By connecting design and operational teams, SBM Offshore fosters a culture of continuous improvement. Tangen highlighted that this cultural shift has been crucial to the company’s success. “We create this inherent wish to always do better and improve on our standards, and that you can only do when you have that consistent journey of design philosophy,” he stated.
Jayme Meier, ExxonMobil’s Vice President of Deepwater Project Delivery, has said the journey in Guyana has been one of rapid progress, pointing out that each FPSO deployed by is unique and not “cookie-cutter replicas”.
“We’re working in a mindset that says we’re going to use the best we have available today, and then we’re going to learn as we go,” Meier explained. This strategy, as Tangen pointed out, ensures that each project benefits from the lessons learned from the previous ones.
Under the Fast4Ward® program, SBM has ordered eight standardized multipurpose floater hulls, with seven already allocated to various projects, including the ONE GUYANA and Jaguar FPSOs for ExxonMobil’s Stabroek Block developments.
