ExxonMobil to test gas compression equipment limits
By Kemol King
President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge
Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil plans to test the limits of its gas compression equipment, as it evaluates options to increase the capacity of Liza Destiny’s Floating Need, Production, Storage and Unloading (FPSO) name plate. The intention to increase the operating name plate capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil per day was first announced by the Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Hess Corporation, Gregory Hill during Stabroek Block partner Q4 2020 earnings call in January.
The company had been testing the capacity of liquids in late January, raising production to 130,000 barrels of oil a day, when its gas compression system experienced a malfunction. This caused the company to start blazing above pilot levels, according to its public statements, to 16 million cubic feet of gas a day.
“The tests are on handling liquids,” Guyana Esso Exploration and Production (EEPGL) President Alistair Routledge told reporters on March 4. President of the local ExxonMobil subsidiary said the company is nowhere near testing any limits on the gas system.
The company held a press conference that day to engage the media on their specific concerns and questions regarding torching and equipment repair.
“What we were experiencing,” says Routledge, “is in the fluid treatment system really. No issues were seen there and this issue is not completely related to equipment issue. ”
Production in Phase One Liza or any oil operation typically has a gas to oil ratio. So, as the company produced more oil, it would already have been producing more gas. By Routledge’s own admission, the company was testing the fluid capacity of the operation by producing more oil, but at the same time was not testing the limits to the gas system, despite increased gas production.
ExxonMobil has indicated in its operational updates that the equipment will be upgraded. When asked if these upgrades are linked to plans to increase a name plate, Production Manager Mike Ryan gave up a denial. He said, “The gas flow that goes through this engine, we are currently at 70 per cent. Any progress … is still well within this machine, and so we have considered that over the life of the facility, and so we are currently focusing nevertheless on getting this machine fixed, getting it aboard a fixed, fixed background flare. And then we’ll discuss evaluating any test of ability going forward. “
The equipment is expected to return and be restored by the end of the month.
The company, according to Hess, plans to have a shutdown for the Liza One operation in the third quarter of 2021, during which it will undertake some pipeline and debottlenecking changes to facilitate the name plate increase.