{"id":1378,"date":"2025-10-25T15:09:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T15:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/?p=1378"},"modified":"2026-02-02T22:39:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:39:05","slug":"from-singapore-to-first-oil-kenny-bissoon-on-bringing-oneguyana-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/2025\/10\/25\/from-singapore-to-first-oil-kenny-bissoon-on-bringing-oneguyana-home\/","title":{"rendered":"From Singapore to First Oil: Kenny Bissoon on Bringing ONEGUYANA Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Guyana\u2019s newest Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO), the ONE GUYANA, achieved first oil on August 8, one of the Guyanese engineers at the heart of its journey was Kenny Bissoon, a Commissioning Engineer at ExxonMobil Guyana. Bissoon\u2019s role spanned continents, technical disciplines, and months of preparation to bring the massive offshore facility online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe ONE GUYANA FPSO was constructed between Singapore and China,\u201d Bissoon explained. \u201cThe modules were built in those two countries. My role as a system owner in the beginning was to be the interface between construction and commissioning.\u201d In practical terms, this meant ensuring that the topside process modules were fully completed to design specifications before transitioning into operational readiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMechanical completion is confirming that the physical construction of the FPSO matches the design,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce that\u2019s done, the next step is commissioning, doing a slew of testing to verify that it works as designed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bissoon was based in Singapore for about 18 months, overseeing the topside process system. Once construction wrapped up, commissioning began on site before the vessel departed for Guyana. He joined the crew during the second leg of the journey, sailing from South Africa to Guyana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we finally got offshore, the next step was to continue the commissioning work we started in Singapore,\u201d Bissoon noted. Commissioning followed a deliberate sequence. \u201cFor a process unit, you want to commission utility systems first\u2014safety systems, communication systems, utility, water, air, all the support systems for the main process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major early task was installing the seawater lift pumps to bring water aboard to run the utility systems. \u201cWe had already worked on some utility systems in Singapore, but offshore we spent several weeks on seawater treatment, which is a big part of our utility systems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With utilities operational, attention shifted to the hydrocarbon systems. \u201cWe prepared the separation train to receive well fluids from subsea and start processing,\u201d Bissoon said. \u201cWe made sure all the process controls and safety systems were commissioned and did a lot of tuning and testing to make sure communications were okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only after all interfaces between subsea and topsides were aligned, and personnel were fully trained, could the facility start up. But commissioning did not end there. \u201cOnce we get First Oil, the next step is to stabilize the flow topsides and then start commissioning the compression train,\u201d he explained. Compressors require a steady flow of gas to operate as designed, which is why flaring is permitted during startup to facilitate testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ONE GUYANA\u2019s design meant more work than its predecessors. \u201cWe\u2019ve got more spare compressors on each train compared to the previous FPSOs, so it\u2019s much more machinery to commission,\u201d Bissoon said. Once the compressors were running, the team began injecting gas and water back into the reservoir while continuing crude processing until the first offload could take place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Bissoon, the achievement was more than a professional milestone; it was personal. Nearly 15 years earlier, he had left Guyana to work in Trinidad\u2019s petrochemical sector. \u201cWhen I left home, I felt I had to,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was no way for me to practice as an engineer in Guyana, no way to make a decent living. It saddened me to leave my family to work somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oil and gas industry\u2019s arrival has changed that landscape. \u201cNow I can contribute to an industry that\u2019s developing the country to the point where no engineer, or anyone for that matter, will have to leave Guyana to make a living for their family,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what fulfills me the most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, he worries that many do not fully grasp the significance of this moment. \u201cI sometimes worry that Guyanese people don\u2019t appreciate the gravity of what we have now. We\u2019ve never had a shortage of aspirations, dreams, or ambition \u2014 just a shortage of opportunities,\u201d Bissoon stressed. \u201cYou can dream all you want, but without opportunities, you won\u2019t get anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sees the sector as offering unprecedented possibilities. However, he cautions that seizing them requires initiative. \u201cThis is a very technical industry. Anywhere in the world, there\u2019s a learning curve when you start up an industry like this. That\u2019s not a handicap, you have to start somewhere,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t wait for people to give you anything. Go and get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bissoon believes the path forward requires boldness and personal accountability. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to take ownership of our success. Good things can happen if we approach it that way,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must not let the opportunities slip us by. There are a lot of them \u2014 you just have to have the initiative and drive to get up and go after them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the commissioning engineer, who helped sail the ONE GUYANA home and bring it to life, that drive has defined his journey, and he hopes it will define the next generation of Guyanese engineers who no longer have to leave home to find their place in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Guyana\u2019s newest Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO), the ONE GUYANA, achieved first oil on August 8, one of the Guyanese engineers at the heart of its journey was Kenny Bissoon, a Commissioning Engineer at ExxonMobil Guyana. Bissoon\u2019s role spanned continents, technical disciplines, and months of preparation to bring the massive offshore facility […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":13,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-offshore"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1378"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1471,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1378\/revisions\/1471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energyguyana.gy\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}