As it builds up a permanent base in Georgetown, EnerMech has secured a new package from Saipem on the $12.7 billion Whiptail oil development offshore Guyana. The contract covers pre-commissioning work on subsea infrastructure for the field, which is operated by ExxonMobil Guyana, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil.
Whiptail is the sixth deepwater oil project approved in the Stabroek block and lies about 200 miles off the Guyanese coast. The floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for the development is being engineered under a front-end engineering and design (FEED) assignment awarded to SBM Offshore.
The award marks EnerMech’s first involvement on the Whiptail field. At the same time, it represents the company’s fifth pre-commissioning campaign in Guyana’s offshore sector, adding to earlier work on the Liza Phase 2 as well as the Payara, Yellowtail, and Uaru developments.
Under the scope from Saipem, the Aberdeen-based energy services company will prepare the subsea production network for start-up. The work plan includes flooding and cleaning of risers and subsea flowlines, followed by integrity checks through hydrotesting. The company will also track umbilicals after load-out, during transit, and laying operations from an offshore construction vessel. In addition, EnerMech will oversee dynamic umbilical lay activities and perform testing once the lines are installed, using the dedicated FPSO (floating production storage and offloading) unit on the project.
To support this and future projects, EnerMech is setting up a new base in Georgetown and rolling out a phased plan for new equipment. The investment includes RFUs (remote flooding units) and STPs (subsea test pumps) to meet increasing demand for offshore energy services in the region.
Chief executive Charles Davison Jr. described the Whiptail award as an important step in EnerMech’s expansion in Guyana and said it demonstrates the confidence that major offshore contracting companies, including Saipem, have in the company’s personnel, technology and performance record.
