ExxonMobil Guyana

Working closely with our local partners, this new office campus development for ExxonMobil is starting to take shape. Despite the weather challenges in the region the ground works progressed well during the first few months of 2022. Construction of the steel superstructure started in February 2022.

Located on a 15-acre green field site adjacent to Ogle Airport on the outskirts of Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, this facility will be ExxonMobil’s in-country headquarters. The primary function of the development is as an office facility to support its off-shore oil exploration business. The project has a total floor area of approximately 120,000 sq ft plus surface parking.

The project includes a full end user fit-out with a strong emphasis on security, fire protection and detection systems, a waste water treatment plant and full site-wide infrastructure works.

Engineering aspects include a 1.5 megawatt solar panel system supported by a similarsized energy storage system, which is connected to the grid. This infrastructure and standby fuel generators are all managed by a micro grid controller which will return surplus energy to the network, making the electrical engineering a complex challenge. When completed this facility will have a net-zero energy footprint.

120,000 sq ft office campus

15-acre site

Solar panel car shading system

Technology

To provide shade for all vehicles in the car park, a solar panel car shading system and supporting structures will be installed, generating 1.5MW of electricity.

This infrastructure and standby fuel generators are all managed by a micro grid controller which will return surplus energy to the network, making the electrical engineering a complex challenge. When completed this facility will have a net-zero energy footprint.

The project includes a full end user fit-out with a strong emphasis on security, fire protection and detection systems, a waste water treatment plant and full site-wide infrastructure works.

Tanisha Williams

Role Electrical Engineer

Joined Update Group 2021

Current Project ExxonMobil, Guyana

What did you do before joining Update Group?

My previous role was with a design consultancy firm where I worked as an Electrical Engineer designing electrical systems across various industry sectors.

Describe your role.

My role is compliance – ensuring all aspects of the project such as technical submittals, product selection, specification and installation are all fit for purpose.

What is the most rewarding project you have worked on?

Gaining the valuable experience of applying my design knowledge to the ExxonMobil project. At the outset working closely with our procurement team in the supply chain selections through to the delivery stage has been rewarding to see the project develop.

What do you see as your key challenges?

One of the key challenges is people management – working with our supply chain to ensure they achieve the project milestones and deliverables.

Has technology changed your role a lot since you first started working?

With the introduction of project management platforms such as Procore, the latest information is equally available to all the team members. Now, the chance of installing from superseded information is less likely, saving time and unnecessary costs.

Describe working at Update Group in 3 words.

Intense. Edifying. Rewarding.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Measure twice, cut once. Double-check that you have made the right decision before taking action.

Tiana Duncan

Role

Health & Safety Manager

Joined Update Group 2021

Current Project

ExxonMobil, Guyana

What did you do before joining Update Group?

I was the Health and Safety Supervisor for the Cellar Expansion Project at Red Stripe, a Jamaican brewery owned by Heineken. My role was to ensure the safe working environment of all operatives on the project.

Describe your role.

As Operational Health & Safety Manager, I am responsible for identifying safety risks and hazards in the workplace and advising employees on how to stay safe. Through training, monitoring and compliance, I ensure accidents, injuries and work-related illnesses are prevented.

What do you see as your key challenges?

Working with a large and diverse team has many challenges. My role, in every project, is to get to know everyone from the outset.

As a representative of safety, it is very important to engage on a one-on-one basis with each team member. This helps to gauge their mindset regarding safety and to impart and thus increase their knowledge and appreciation of safety concerns. Awareness is everything!

What is your most rewarding project?

It must be the ExxonMobil office campus in Guyana for its great team spirit. The business and I share the same goals for safety, inclusion, diversity and integrity.

Has technology changed your role a lot since you first started working?

The use of workplace technologies makes it easier to record, compile, and analyze unsafe event patterns. This helps to identify concerns early and act positively. Patten risk management through technology helps us advise and offer direction early to the team, thus achieving a safe and sustainable workplace.

Describe working at Update Group in 3 words. Collaborative. Passionate. Reliable.

A witness test for the energy storage system (ESS) for our ExxonMobil campus project in Guyana. An ESS protects against many typical power problems, including power failure, voltage sags/surges and under/over frequency conditions.

Enclosed in a pre-engineered container that is easily installed on site, the ESS consists of a complex electric power system where four different sources of power converge and are managed through a micro-grid controller. The four sources are: Grid, Solar, Standby Generators and ESS.

The Update Group team coordinated the entire process, from design through to procurement. The test was carried out at Caterpillar’s USA facility.