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…as Exxon hopes to return to pilot flare levels
The damaged Flash Gas Compression (FGC) system from aboard the Liza Destiny FPSO has been repaired, successfully tested and is preparing for transport to Guyana, marking a hopeful end to the above-average level of flaring ongoing offshore Guyana.
During a press briefing on Thursday, ExxonMobil Guyana Production Manager, Mike Ryan provided the update. “The compressor has completed all its repairs. It has been tested on the test bench within MAN in Germany and the mechanical run test was successful and we’ve reviewed the data and the MAN engineers, the SBM engineers and ourselves, we’ve accepted the test results and the machine is getting ready to make its way back to Guyana,” he said.
Repairs have also been completed on other equipment such as the discharge silencer necessary for the smooth flow of production. In addition, the Company has identified all the key resources needed to aid installation, start-up and monitoring of the machine offshore.
As these developments take place, Ryan said that ExxonMobil is also working assiduously to ensure that flaring remains minimum offshore while maintaining an average of 120,000 bpd production-wise.
“In order for us to get back to pilot flare levels we need that flash gas compressor or we need to reduce production to zero and that’s just a fact. But our focus right now is getting the machine repaired –and it is repaired — getting the discharge silencer finished and get it sent back to Guyana, installed and get back to that pilot level flare,” he said.
The Production Manager said that ExxonMobil remains in regular contact with the necessary local agencies which hold the Company accountable for rectifying the issues.
In late January, after flaring millions of cubic feet of natural gas offshore Guyana in 2020 due to challenges, ExxonMobil again recommenced flaring above start-up levels due to a new technical issue on the Liza Destiny. At one point, some 16 million cubic feet of gas was being flared per day.
