VESSEL REVIEW | Prosperity – ExxonMobil Guyana expands operations with third FPSO

A recently completed floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) has begun operating in the waters off Guyana on behalf of the local office of oil company ExxonMobil.

The 333- by 60-metre Prosperity was built by Singapore's Keppel Offshore and Marine (Keppel O&M) to a proprietary design by Dutch engineering firm SBM Offshore. The construction and integration of the topside's modules, riser, and mooring structures were undertaken by SBM Offshore in Singapore, with sub-contractors Dyna-Mac Engineering Services for the construction of the main topsides modules and Keppel for fabrication of the riser and mooring structures as well as the integration of the topsides.

SBM Offshore developed what it calls a multi-purpose floater (MPF) design in response to market requirements for an FPSO with standardised layouts, components, and equipment while also accommodating bespoke features. Approved by both Bureau Veritas and ABS, the design promises a range of benefits including a service life of 30 years, 13 per cent greater deck space compared to very large crude carriers, and a 30 per cent greater overall topside footprint to accommodate up to 50,000 tonnes of operating topsides and future tie-backs.

Prosperity is deployed at Guyana's Payara oil field, located in the Stabroek block. The FPSO is designed to achieve a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day, an associated gas treatment capacity of around 11.3 million cubic metres per day, and a water injection capacity of around 250,000 barrels per day. The FPSO will be spread moored in water depth of 1,900 metres and will be able to store up to two million barrels of crude oil.

ExxonMobil Guyana expects Prosperity will begin production at the Starbroek block before the end of the year. The new vessel joins the FPSOs Liza Destiny and Liza Unity, which are currently producing more than 380,000 barrels per day. ExxonMobil estimates that production from Prosperity will push daily production to some 600,000 barrels a day by 2024.

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