GUYANA’s third Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, the Prosperity, was officially dedicated by First Lady Arya Ali and company officials on Wednesday at a ceremony at the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore.

The naming and dedication ceremony marked the final stage for the Prosperity as it readied to set sail for Guyana, where it will arrive some two months after departure.

In keeping with tradition, the dedication was performed by Mrs. Ali, who is the “Godmother” of the vessel, tasked with bestowing good luck and protection over it and all who sail aboard.

Honoured to receive the title of Godmother of the vessel, the First Lady said the name Prosperity was fitting as it reflects the promise in store for the people of Guyana.

“Our first FPSO sealed Guyana’s promising Destiny; the second called for our Unity, and now this third will move us forward on the path toward Prosperity. As we move forward, we are hopeful and optimistic that the state we find ourselves in echoes the name of this vessel, and that the people of Guyana thrive and succeed,” Mrs Ali said during her remarks at the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore.

Notably, she said that this third vessel signals the potential for more local content growth – more opportunities for businesses and jobs for individuals.

This, she noted, ultimately means increased revenues for Guyana, which will go towards helping the country achieve many of the goals outlined in the national development strategy, including access to quality medical treatment and education.

“For Guyana, this vessel offers another avenue to prosperity, an opportunity to build a future for our people; a future they deserve,” Mrs Ali said, adding that the vessel is not just a symbol of development but also a physical manifestation of the hard work and collaborative relationship between the people of Guyana and the collection of companies doing business in the oil and gas sector.

Describing collaboration as “critical” to the vessel’s success, the First Lady acknowledged the work of every partner who made it possible. “The work that was carried out on the vessel during the challenges of the pandemic, the way the teams’ focus and drive was steady and productive, has brought us here for this significant milestone,” she added.

Described as the “personification of excellence,” President of ExxonMobil Global Project, Mr. Jon Gibbs said Prosperity incorporated the lessons learned from the Liza Destiny and Unity FPSOs, which led to an even more complete offshore facility delivered with minimal carryover work. “Prosperity is an inflection point in the broader Guyana development plan and the rate of development will only accelerate from here,” he said while acknowledging the role of each partner in successfully executing the project.

ExxonMobil’s Senior Vice President of Deepwater Hunter Farris praised the level of collaboration among multiple companies in several countries that went into making the project a reality. He also highlighted the benefits that will arise from having a third vessel operating offshore Guyana.

“The Prosperity reaffirms ExxonMobil’s commitment to Guyana. A third vessel operating offshore will further contribute to Guyana’s transformation, creating new business and employment opportunities over the life of its operation,” said Mr. Farris.

The Dutch provider of FPSOs, SMB Offshore, was responsible for the construction of the oil vessel, and according to Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Bruno Chabas, it was a remarkable feat to deliver the vessel in just over two years, considering how adversely the COVID-19 pandemic impacted global mobility and worksites.

The vessel will work on ExxonMobil’s Payara development, located roughly 200 kilometres offshore Guyana. The Payara project will target an estimated resource base of about 600 million oil-equivalent barrels. The project start-up is expected later this year.

The FPSO is designed to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day, with an associated gas treatment capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day and a water injection capacity of 250,000 barrels per day. It will be spread moored in a water depth of about 1,900 meters and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil.