A new FPSO contract between SBM Offshore and ExxonMobil has opened the front-end engineering and design gate on the next phase of the Stabroek block offshore Guyana, Offshore-Energy.biz reported, advancing a future hub toward final investment decision.

The award links SBM Offshore — operator of every FPSO deployed in Guyana to date — with ExxonMobil, which operates the 6.6-million-acre Stabroek license. Hess Corp. and CNOOC Ltd. hold non-operated stakes alongside the operator.

SBM Offshore has held the contracted FPSO position on every sanctioned Guyana development since the basin opened. Liza Destiny entered service in December 2019 on the Liza-1 field and remains the longest-running unit in the field.

Liza Unity, the second FPSO, followed in late 2022 and now operates alongside its predecessor. SBM is constructing the Prosperity FPSO for the Yellowtail project, sanctioned at 250,000 bpd gross capacity with first oil targeted during 2025.

What does the FEED award cover?

The contract progresses a defined development hub through engineering execution and toward FID. Industry trackers treat FEED gates as the inflection at which the selected contractor's FPSO design — hull form, turret, and topside processing train — becomes firm enough to reserve a fabrication yard slot.

That sequencing matters in a tight shipyard market. The leading yard contenders for Guyana-class FPSOs have run near full book across 2024 and 2025. A clean FEED award typically comes 12 to 18 months ahead of hull cut steel.

Which hub is next?

ExxonMobil sanctioned Uaru in April 2023 at 250,000 bpd gross, targeting first oil by 2026. SBM Offshore previously won the FPSO tender for that development.

After Uaru, the operator has pointed to subsequent resource clusters on Stabroek — including Snoek, Mako, and the broader X discovery corridor — as candidates for the next wave of FPSO contracts. The latest FEED contract could map to a sanctioned fourth hub or to an appraisal-stage resource that ExxonMobil is preparing for sanction.

How does this fit the basin trajectory?

Stabroek gross production crossed 400,000 bpd during 2024, with Liza Destiny and Liza Unity maintaining plateau output as Prosperity moved through integration. ExxonMobil projects Stabroek gross output above 1.2 million bpd by 2027 across all planned hubs at design rates. The block has produced multiple commercial discoveries since 2015 across several geological plays.

The basin remains the largest single source of Atlantic offshore supply additions. Brazil's pre-salt adds roughly 200,000 bpd per year through deepwater ramps. Guyana matches that pace with smaller per-hub throughputs and shorter discovery-to-production cycle times — typically 4 to 6 years versus 8 to 10 across most deepwater provinces.

What to watch

• The specific hub or resource cluster named at FID, which would tie the FPSO to recoverable reserves.
• Uaru FPSO first-oil confirmation during ExxonMobil's next earnings cycle.
• Hull yard slot allocation for the newbuild, the binding constraint on deliveries scheduled for 2026 through 2028.
• Any incremental guidance on Stabroek unitization with adjacent license areas, which would reshape subsequent FPSO sizing and timing.