Understanding Energy: The sustainability of FPSOs

THE oil and gas sector in Guyana has seen rapid development and growth in a short period of time. To ensure development stays on track for projects, efforts have been made by Guyana and its partners to prioritise safe drilling and sustainable development.

Earlier last week, it was announced that the Payara project will be utilising a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel with a record sustainable design. Prosperity will be the second FPSO to operate offshore Guyana with this new design, after Liza Unity being the first.

The Liza Unity design was also the first production vessel of its kind in the world to be awarded the SUSTAIN-1 notation by the Classification Society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

Making FPSOs more sustainable includes the adoption of new or redesigned technologies, better methods to generate electricity to power onboard equipment and regulated guidance on venting among other areas.

The new vessels are expected to be more energy efficient and have lower air emissions than any other similar vessels operating around the world. Like Unity, Prosperity is likely to be awarded the SUSTAIN-1 notation by the Classification Society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), making Guyana a leader in this space.

In keeping with Guyana’s desire to maintain its green identity, much thought has been put into ensuring the most modern and sustainable vessels will operate offshore.

Sustainable design, while often overlooked, will be a critical element of the role Guyana plays in helping the world meet energy needs, while still balancing a diversifying energy mix. Guyana and its partners are already doing impressive work to ensure projects are meeting high environmental standards, while still prioritising production.

President Irfaan Ali shared his vision for how sustainability fits within Guyana’s future at a Wilson Center event in July 2022.

“You will see in our development strategy, whether it’s the food strategy, the oil and gas strategy, the infrastructure strategy… a full commitment to ensuring that our forest remains intact, remains sustainable,” President Ali said.

“We have a monitoring system that is of international standard. We have audits. So, the development part of Guyana is a part that reaches towards sustainability, is a part that is diversified. And that is why these forums are critically important for us – ensuring that the world and investors, people in academia and policy makers, understand the wide-ranging multi-faceted nature of development and the path of development we are taking to position Guyana as a sustainable story in our development phase,” the Head of State related.

President Ali reinforced that sustainability is an integral part of Guyana’s future as it develops its resources. This is important as Guyana continues to provide the world with a reliable source of energy, while simultaneously developing its economy and putting in place strategies like the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 to ensure a secure energy transition.

Last year, ExxonMobil announced that there could be as many as ten floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) operating offshore in Guyana. More importantly, whether it be the new Prosperity FPSO or the others expected to be developed in this decade, the government has a plan to monitor the impact of these vessels.

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it will contract with Maxar Technologies Inc. in Colorado for real-time environmental monitoring, using satellites to spot oil spills in real time both onshore and offshore.

Environmental standards and record production numbers are not mutually exclusive in Guyana, and only further demonstrates the foundational importance of investing in sustainable design in the oil and gas sector.

Continuing on the right path will require ongoing careful consideration of all the factors necessary to strike the balance between high environmental standards, industry competitiveness through production, and transparent processes that benefit the country.

 

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