Page 5 - LatAmOil Week 46 2021

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil

Neither EEPGL nor SBM Offshore has disclosed “We will align these strengths with those of SBM
the value of the contract or the anticipated deliv- Offshore to drive a cohesive, efficient execution
ery date for the new vessel. Newbuild FPSO strategy together.”
units of similar size typically carry a price tag of
$2.5-3.0bn and may take more than two years Local content
to construct. The Dutch company issued its statement shortly
after Reuters reported that EEPGL had begun
Working with a partner negotiations on the fourth FPSO contract. Two
SBM Offshore will not be working alone. sources close to the matter told the news agency
Instead, it has teamed up with McDermott that one of the key subjects under discussion was
International to set up a special-purpose com- a proposal for building some of the components
pany (SPC) for the turnkey part of the project. of the FPSO in Guyana itself. EEPGL is also
(McDermott will hold 30% of the SPC, and the The sources did not say whether any specific
Dutch service provider will have the remaining local content contracts were on the agenda, but reported to be
70% and retain full ownership of the FPSO.) Reuters noted that the proposal was in line with
According to the statement, this arrangement the Guyanese government’s efforts to ensure that discussing a
will help SBM Offshore strengthen its execution local firms have the opportunity to contribute to proposal for
model despite the challenges currently facing hydrocarbon projects. It quoted Bharrat Jagdeo,
global oil and gas markets. It will also benefit the country’s vice-president, as saying: “We are building some
EEPGL by applying the partners’ experience hoping that more and more of the components
in engineering, procurement and construction could be fabricated in Guyana.” of the FPSO’s
(EPC) projects and their combined fabrication EEPGL has now awarded four Stabroek-re-
and engineering capacity to work on the FPSO. lated FPSO construction contracts to SBM Off- components in
Bruno Chabas, SBM Offshore’s CEO, said: shore. The Dutch-based company has already Guyana itself
“SBM Offshore is proud to announce Exxon- completed two such vessels for the project –
Mobil has awarded the contracts for the fourth Liza Unity and Liza Destiny, which have been
FPSO to be deployed in Guyana. When fin- installed at the Liza-1 and Liza-2 production
ished, the FPSO will be the largest producing sites respectively. The third, which will be known
unit ever built by the company. This project as the Prosperity, is still under construction at
again demonstrates the value that our indus- the Keppel shipyards in Singapore.
try-leading Fast4Ward® programme continues Equity in the Stabroek block, which contains
to bring to our clients and other stakeholders. more than 10bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in
We are also pleased to announce our partner- recoverable reserves, is split between ExxonMo-
ship with McDermott and look forward to bil Guyana, the operator, with 45%; Hess Guy-
working together through the execution phase ana Exploration, with 30%; and China National
and deliver this world-class project.” Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), with 25%.
Samik Mukherjee, McDermott’s executive The partners brought Liza-1, their first devel-
vice-president and COO, also struck an upbeat opment project, on stream in December 2019,
note. “Our people and resources bring the and the oilfield is now yielding about 120,000
proven project execution, integrated engineer- bpd. They are on track to launch Liza-2 in early
ing and modularisation capabilities essential for 2022, followed by Payara in 2024 and Yellowtail
delivery assurance and success,” he commented. in 2025. ™

(Image: SBM Offshore)

Week 46 18•November•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P5