Offshore staff
NEW YORK – The drillship Stena Carron has spudded ExxonMobil’s latest exploration well in the deepwater Stabroek block offshore Guyana.
Haimara-1 is 19 mi (31 km) east of thePluma-1 discovery in the southeastern part of the concession.
Later this month, according to partner Hess, the drillshipNoble Tom Madden will drill the second well, Tilapia-1, 3 mi (5 km) west of the Longtail-1 discovery and within the emerging Turbot area.
The Liza Phase 1 development has entered its peak execution phase on the way to start-up in early 2020. Development drilling continues via the drillshipNoble Bob Douglas; subsea facilities are undergoing preparations for installation; and topsides modules are being installed on the FPSO Liza Destiny in Singapore.
Preparations are also under way for the start of offshore pipelay this spring. During the summer, the FPSO is due to depart Singapore and should reach Guyana some time in 3Q.
Liza Phase 2 will likely start up by mid-2022 through a second FPSO, designed to produce up to 220,000 b/d. Pending approvals, the partners anticipate project sanction during the current quarter, and sanction also looks probable this year for a third development, Payara, starting up potentially in 2023.
In addition, ExxonMobil plans to deploy a seismic vessel operated by PGS over the Turbot area to acquire 4D seismic data, similar to a 4D campaign conducted in the Liza area in 2017.
However, a second PGS vessel has been released after seismic acquisition activities had to be halted in the northwest portion of the Stabroek block just before Christmas, following the approach of Venezuelan navy vessels due to a territorial dispute.
ExxonMobil stressed at the time that drilling and development operations offshore Guyana would be unaffected by the incident, which occurred more than 68 mi (110 km) northwest of Ranger, the closest of the 10 oil discoveries to date in the southeast section of the block.
The vessels involved were theRamform Atlas and Ramform Tethys, which both mobilized in early December 2018 for the survey. According to operator PGS, the contract had an estimated total duration of around 13 vessel months and an estimated value of more than $75 million.
TheRamform Tethys will undertake the 4D program on the Stabroek block, where it should remain operating for three months.
As for theRamform Atlas, PGS will receive payment for mobilization, work performed, standby and demobilization. The company expects to deploy the vessel on a multi-client program or contract survey soon.
01/07/2019
