SBM Offshore Closes $1.75 Bn Financing For One Guyana FPSO

Dutch FPSO leasing specialist SBM Offshore has completed the $1.75 billion project financing for the floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) One Guyana.

The project financing was secured by a consortium of 15 international banks. The company expects to draw the loan in full, phased over the construction period of the FPSO.

The financing will become non-recourse once the FPSO is completed, and the pre-completion guarantee has been released. The project loan is in line with the duration of the charter hence a two-year tenor post-completion and carries a variable interest rate based on SOFR plus a 2.2 percent margin.

The FPSO One Guyana builds on the experience to date of FPSOs Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, and Prosperity. As such, the design is based on SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward program that incorporates the company’s newbuild, multi-purpose hull combined with several standardized topsides modules.

The Fast4Ward system relies on ordering hulls for the FPSOs without any contracts. This helps with shortening delivery when the company eventually secures a deal.

As for One Guyana, the FPSO will be designed to produce around 250,000 barrels of oil per day and will have an associated gas treatment capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day and a water injection capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. The FPSO will be spread moored in a water depth of about 5,900 feet and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil.

The project is part of the Yellowtail development, which is the fourth development within the Stabroek block, circa 125 miles offshore Guyana.

Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation, is the operator and holds a 45 percent interest in the Stabroek block, Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds a 30 percent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 percent interest.

Earlier this year Exxon discovered oil in three new wells drilled offshore, raising recoverable oil and gas potential from its discoveries to nearly 11 billion barrels. At least six FPSOs with a production capacity of more than 1 million gross barrels are planned to be online by 2027 on the Stabroek Block, with the potential for up to 10 FPSOs to develop gross discovered recoverable resources in the offshore block.

A fifth FPSO for the block will be ordered soon and will be used to develop the Mako and Uaru discoveries. The vessel will have 250,000+ b/d oil and 400+ mmcf/d gas production capability.

Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE