Upgrades to the first three floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels offshore Guyana have unlocked a major boost in oil capacity -125,000 barrels per day (b/d).
According to SBM Offshore’s half year report, this increase comes from debottlenecking work on the Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, and Prosperity FPSOs.
The 125,000 b/d gain closely matches the 130,000 b/d increase recently confirmed by the Guyanese government and reported by OilNOW.
These additional volumes were delivered without deploying new FPSOs and surpass the entire initial nameplate capacity of Liza 1, which was 120,000 b/d when it came online in December 2019. Liza 1 has since been optimized to handle up to 160,000 b/d, reflecting a 40,000 b/d increase.
None like Payara: Exxon yet to replicate optimization, but there’s still time | OilNOW
ExxonMobil’s second project, Liza 2, began producing in early 2022 with a nameplate capacity of 220,000 b/d. It took five months to reach that level and another nine months to hit 250,000 b/d. Liza 2 has now been optimized to a peak capacity of 265,000 b/d, up 45,000 b/d from its original design.
Payara, the third development, came online in November 2023 and hit its 220,000 b/d nameplate in two months. It has also been upgraded to process up to 265,000 b/d. Government data show both Liza 2 and Payara are now producing at sustained levels near 260,000 b/d.
Cumulatively, the capacity of Liza 1, Liza 2 and Payara has risen from 560,000 b/d to 690,000 b/d – a 23% increase. Exxon had explained earlier this year that the gains were made possible through debottlenecking, which involves removing infrastructure constraints to boost system throughput.
Optimization efforts ‘perfectly within operating envelope of FPSOs’, says SBM Offshore | OilNOW
“We aim to keep production at or near plateau levels for as long as safely possible,” the company had stated.
With Yellowtail, Uaru, and Whiptail each expected to add 250,000 b/d when operational, Exxon’s ability to enhance existing output underscores the untapped potential in Guyana’s oil production portfolio.
