THE Liza Destiny is finally here! Guyana is closer than ever to first oil 2020. The Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel journeyed for 42 days and nearly 11 thousand miles from the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore to reach Guyana’s waters on Thursday morning.
The vessel took off on its journey after First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger commissioned and was named the ‘godmother’ of the vessel, at a ceremony hosted in June 2019 in Singapore.
Her arrival should engender a new spirit of nationalism, pride and expectation.
The arrival of the Liza Destiny

The first quarter of 2020 will mark five years between discovery and first oil. By that time, Guyana will have shaved years off of the industry average, which is about seven to eight years. Since the Liza Destiny is Guyana’s first FPSO, Director of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe said that infrastructure like this will soon be a norm for Guyana.

“The arrival of the Liza Destiny will definitely become a big occasion for Guyana because now, it’s no more just talking about first oil. First oil will now be on the horizon… The vessel is powered by 160 megawatts of power which is more than what Guyana currently consumes. Now that in itself tells you the volume of energy because… it’s not only a vessel, it’s also a processing plant… As the oil comes in, it’s separating the gas from the oil and re-injecting that gas into the well to enhance recovery. So it’s a huge facility floating on the water. The important thing is, the second vessel that should be coming, Liza Two, is almost double the size of this one,” Dr. Bynoe said.

The arrival of the Liza Destiny, he said, also brings to the forefront the finalisation of key policies that will govern activities on the vessel. Right now, the Department is making progress on Guyana’s Crude Lifting Agreement and a policy for Crude Marketing.

“The Crude Lifting Agreement basically speaks to the fact that each investor will be allocated a certain portion of the oil. We have to, therefore, have an arrangement as to who will lift when. In other words, whose portion it is and how will they arrange to take that portion because the FPSO, or the vessel, the Liza Destiny, for each lift we say, we are estimating it at about a million barrels per lift. Our estimation, therefore, means that every eight to ten days there should be a lift. Therefore, would Exxon get the first lift? If not Exxon, would it be Hess? If not Hess would it be CNOOC then [perhaps] Government of Guyana,” he said.

Dr. Bynoe also explained that until the Government of Guyana is fully prepared to branch out into other parts of the oil industry, like refining, Guyana must be prepared to properly market her crude oil.

“Government has been on record as saying they are not keen, at this point in time, to establish refineries… onshore. So, much of the crude will be marketed from the Government’s side at a spot price free on board… We would be getting a percentage for every barrel of crude that is sold. That agreement is also soon to be in place. That will mean that we could go out to a tender for potential bidders for our crude and we seek to extract optimum value from our lift, or our proportion of crude. So, Guyanese can be assured that Guyana is taking control in terms of marketing its own crude at a fairly reduced risk but also at an optimum premium, but these are some of the key steps that we are taking,” he said.

Guyanese must understand that the Liza Destiny does not belong to any foreign company. The FPSO, the Director of Energy said, is a Guyanese vessel coming to extract Guyana’s oil.

“We should be proud because as I have been on record as saying. the cost of these vessels, whether they’re leasing or whether the second one we are likely to be purchasing, these are the costs we as Guyanese have to pay. So I know we have been ceding a lot and saying Exxon’s vessel and ExxonMobil’s first FPSO, but as Guyanese, we should start recognising these are our monies and so it is a Guyanese vessel pumping Guyanese fuel which will be bringing in Guyanese revenue to help Guyanese ultimately advance and develop,” he said.

Dr. Bynoe also explained that Guyanese can look forward to the realisation of President David Granger’s vision for the oil and gas revenues.

“His Excellency has already indicated that he would like to see us moving back to free education from nursery right on to university, education that will help to sustain the development trajectory of the country. Guyana has need of significant infrastructural development. The University of Guyana, for example, had need for a useful and functional medical hospital so that our students can ultimately be trained. The average Guyanese will be looking to see how his or her material conditions will change in terms of improvement in [their] disposable income and the securing of an energy supply that is not only greater than we currently have but is stable, and also reliable, to allow us to move towards more value additions in terms of what it is we produce. So there are a multiplicity of areas that Guyanese can look forward to,” he said.

Regulating the seas
The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) are the gatekeepers of Guyana’s waters. The Government of Guyana has prioritised safety with the emergence of this new sector. Director General of MARAD, Ms. Claudette Rogers explained how her Department, throughout this process, has prioritised safety and security to protect Guyana and to protect Guyanese.

“The Maritime Administration Department was established in 2003. It is a regulatory agency. We have three main divisions, namely the Port and Harbour, the Safety Division and the Admin and Finance Division… [MARAD] is required to carry out its national and international obligations… Guyana is a member of the [International Maritime Organisation (IMO)] and the mandate of the IMO is safe… secure and clean seas. So, safety is paramount, as well as security, as well as protection of the environment. So, we have to ensure that vessels that are going to be calling our port… that those vessels operate in a very safe manner. We have to ensure that our waters, that they’re definitely going to be using to call to our harbours… we ensure we give them necessary guidance and proceed without any hindrances as best as possible,” she said.

The Director General said consultation and capacity building has been key to ensuring the Department’s preparedness.

“We have to ensure that our crew [is] well trained… It’s important that we… do capacity building because… it is a specialised function and, therefore, it requires specialised personnel… Capacity-building is of critical importance… It is still a work in progress. Right now, at this juncture, we have been meeting with various stakeholders. There has been quite an increase in the number of agencies, companies that are perhaps coming to Guyana in preparation for first oil, and … they want to offer various services. They have been in contact with the Administration seeking our [guidance] in a number of areas… They want us to give them the necessary guidance… We have to be looking outside so that we can give them the proper guidance going forward, but we are [confident] in how we’re taking all of the necessary steps to have our personnel well trained, well qualified… It’s a work in progress… I can’t say that we are fully prepared for this first oil but we are taking all the steps moving forward,” she said.

Guyanese Marine Officer and Inspector in training, Mr. Alex Hinds, was afforded the opportunity to travel to Singapore, before the Liza Destiny’s commissioning, to help inspect the vessel for her voyage to and arrival in Guyana.

“The reason for the visit was just to ensure that the vessel is up and ready with all its documentation, its safety requirements, [and to ensure] that the vessel’s security and everything was okay to leave Singapore and head down to Guyana. So, our stay was just to ensure we go through… the documentation that the vessel was [up to date] with all international standards, regulations, conventions, to ensure safe passage to Guyana. Also, when it [arrived] here to ensure that those standards, conventions, procedures are also being carried out and [upheld],” he said.

Mr. Hinds said being on a vessel of that size and with that power was an experience he will never forget.

“I don’t think I could sum up words to explain that. It was something really new, wonderful. I learned a lot from it. [It was] really good exposure, really good eye-opener for me. It goes to show that if you could set your mind to something, you can achieve it. I was one of the persons fortunate enough to experience something like that… It’s really nice, kind of nerve-wracking and my heart is pounding because to know that I travelled so far to check on this vessel and within a matter of days it’s going to be right offshore. So, it’s really nice. I would really like an opportunity to go back again and see how things have improved from the time I was there to the time of [its arrival] and also to get an understanding of the production and so on when first oil comes,” he said.

Where the oil and gas industry is concerned, Guyana is launching into unchartered territory. Guyanese, however, can rest assured that every decision made by the Government of Guyana and the Department of Energy is carefully calculated and planned to bring about the greatest success for this industry. The arrival of the Liza Destiny means so much for Guyana. This is a moment in history that the nation will not soon forget.