First Lady is “Godmother” of Liza Unity FPSO

by in Guyana, News

Georgetown: The Liza Unity, Guyana’s second floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel has been officially dedicated by First Lady of Guyana, Her Excellency Mrs. Arya Ali, the ship’s “Godmother,” as it prepares to set sail from Singapore for Guyanese waters. The ceremony was held at the Cara Lodge Hotel on Saturday, June 12.

  • Group picture is of Representatives of ExxonMobil Guyana, CNOOC Guyana, SBM Offshore and the government and members of the Diplomatic Corps.
  • President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge and President of CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Ltd Liu Xiaoxiang hands over a token of appreciation to “God Mother” First Lady Arya Ali

Traditionally, the vessel “godmother” bestows luck and protection over the vessel and crew during its journey.

Mrs. Ali highlighted the importance of this project to Guyana, saying, “This project will materialize in the form of local content growth; meaning more jobs for Guyanese and more opportunities for local businesses and increased revenues, which, when prudently managed, will certainly help us to achieve many of the aspirational goals which have been outlined by the Government of Guyana.”

ExxonMobil Guyana’s president Alistair Routledge said, “The construction of the Liza Unity FPSO meets our objective of maximizing value for our partners, the government and people of Guyana. With the addition of Liza Phase 2, those revenues will multiply, and utilization of local content will continue to grow, bringing important benefits to the country,” he added.

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat spoke to the impacts of the project on the continued growth of the industry.

The hull for the Liza Unity FPSO was built by Chinese shipyard ‘Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. It is based on SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward programme, and it is the first FPSO in Guyana to incorporate the company’s “design one, build many” approach. The topside modules were constructed and added to the hull by Keppel at their shipyard in Singapore.

The naming ceremony marks a significant step for the Liza Unity in Singapore before it sets sail for Guyana.

The Liza Unity has a production target of 220,000 barrels of oil per day and an overall storage volume of up 2 million barrels. Production from the Liza Unity is expected to start up by 2022.