‘Exxon’ slashes production by 75 per cent

IN conducting final checks on the recently re-installed flash gas compressor at the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, offshore Guyana, ExxonMobil encountered another issue, which has since forced the oil giant to slash its production temporarily by at least 75 per cent.
According to information from ExxonMobil, its regular daily production of about 120,000 barrels has been reduced to 30,000 per day, a decrease of 90,000 barrels.
“We have reduced production to a minimum level that mitigates formation of hydrates in subsea systems, maintains gas injection and fuel gas to the power generators, and minimises flare,” ExxonMobil’s Public and Government Affairs Adviser, Janelle Persaud, said in an official update, on Tuesday.
According to Persaud, production was reduced significantly because the company encountered problems related to the discharge silencer, which is a component of the recently re-installed flash gas compressor.

The compressor was damaged in January and resulted in the company having to temporarily increase gas-flaring above pilot levels in order to maintain safe operations. The faulty contraption was subsequently removed and sent to Germany for immediate repairs.
The repaired and upgraded components of the flash gas compression system have been safely re-installed, but a comprehensive three-phase testing programme was undertaken to ensure full safety. It is during the final stage of the three-phase testing programme that the company encountered a problem with the discharge silencer. A discharge silencer is used to attenuate noise produced by the expansion of air, steam or gas at elevated pressure to atmospheric pressure.
As part of efforts to rectify the issue, a team from SBM Offshore, MAN Energy Solutions and ExxonMobil are on site assessing repairs, with support from engineering experts in Europe and the USA.