MODEC's floating production, storage and offloading vessel for the Errea Wittu development has arrived in Guyanese waters, clearing a key operational hurdle for ExxonMobil's fifth oil project on the Stabroek block.

The FPSO's arrival positions the production unit on station ahead of the project's ramp toward first oil. ExxonMobil operates the Stabroek block with a 45% interest, alongside Hess with 30% and CNOOC with 25%.

Guyana's offshore output has expanded rapidly since first oil in December 2019, with each successive development adding production capacity on the block. The arrival of the MODEC-built unit marks the transition of the fifth development from construction and integration work — carried out overseas — to offshore hookup and commissioning in the basin itself.

MODEC supplied the FPSO under its standard build-and-lease arrangement, in which the Japanese floater specialist constructs the vessel and operates it under contract for the operator. The company has built a growing order book in Guyana's basin, where ExxonMobil and its partners continue to sanction developments at a pace matched by few other deepwater provinces.

Commissioning activity will now shift to connecting the vessel to pre-installed subsea infrastructure, followed by introduction of hydrocarbons. On that timeline hangs the start-up date for the fifth project, which industry watchers expect to add a further increment to Guyana's crude output.

The watch item: first oil from Errea Wittu, and with it confirmation of the production level Guyana will carry into next year.