ExxonMobil on Monday announced that Liza Phase 1 development has reached another milestone with the installation of the first subsea tree.
According to the company, a subsea tree monitors and controls the production of a subsea well. Affixed to the wellhead of a completed well, it can also manage fluids or gas injected into a well.
“The tree arrived in Guyanese waters on the Chouest C-Installer in February. Installation and testing began on April 11 and lasted for four days,” the company said in a release to the media.
According to ExxonMobil, it was lowered into the water from the back deck of the multipurpose installation vessel via a crane, set in 1700 meters of water onto the first completed well then latched and locked into place using a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). The valves were then pressure tested.
The next tree is expected to be installed in May.
The Liza Phase 1 development includes a subsea production system and a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel designed to have the capacity to process up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day from four subsea drill centres consisting of 17 wells which include eight producers, six water injectors and three gas injectors.
Production start-up is scheduled for early 2020.
US oil giant ExxonMobil has revised the estimated gross recoverable resource from the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana to approximately 5.5 billion oil-equivalent barrels.
