First Lady Sandra Granger (centre) at the commissioning (Ministry of the Presidency photo)
June 22 2019
ExxonMobil’s Liza Destiny, the first oil production vessel which will be placed in Guyana’s waters has been officially dedicated by First Lady Sandra Granger.
According to a press release from ExxonMobil, in keeping with tradition and naming protocols, the dedication is done by a female who is called the “godmother of the vessel” to bestow good luck.
In her remarks, the release said that Mrs. Granger recognized the importance of this project and industry to Guyana. “I hope this ship will bring to us, the people of Guyana not only prosperity in a physical sense but greater cohesion, greater development and of course the sustainability of our country,” she added.
The release added that ExxonMobil’s Upstream President Liam Mallon recognized the correlation between the name of the floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, the “Liza Destiny”, and ExxonMobil’s intent to partner with the country over the long term.
“We are committed for a long voyage. We first signed an agreement to explore for hydrocarbons in the Stabroek block in 1999, we drilled the Liza well in May 2015, and this FPSO has been designed to produce oil for decades. It will provide value to Guyana and ExxonMobil for the long term. Our destinies, therefore, have been and will continue to be linked to Guyana in the future,” he stated.
The release said that the Liza Destiny FPSO was converted from the oil tanker, “Tina”, a VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. The contract for its conversion was awarded to SBM in July 2017.
The naming ceremony marks the final stage for the Liza Destiny as it readies to set sail for Guyana next month.
The Liza Destiny has a production capacity up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day and an overall storage volume of 1.6 million barrels. The release said that during normal operations, there will be at least 80 persons living and working onboard the vessel. Twenty four Operations and Maintenance Technicians, who are currently being trained in Canada, will return in 2020 to support work on the Liza Destiny.
