– response teams monitoring situation; Govt agencies notified
Quick response from oil giant ExxonMobil in the Liza Phase Two of the Stabroek Block, has resulted in the quick containment of an oil leak caused by a single oil barrel that was released during maintenance activities.
According to Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) in a statement on Saturday, the oil was released during maintenance works on the Liza Unity Floating Production and Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel. It was, however, isolated and contained.
“On Friday, September 9, 2022, the team on the Liza Unity FPSO observed a sheen on the water in the vicinity of the vessel. Initial investigations indicate that approximately one barrel of crude oil was released during a maintenance activity on the vessel.”
“The activity was immediately stopped and the leak isolated. Earlier today (Saturday), additional surveillance by helicopter confirmed that there was no sheen in the area; only a light sheen was perceptible approximately 20 km (13 miles) North West of the vessel.”
According to EEPGL, by midday on Saturday, a support vessel in the area confirmed no further sign of a sheen. Nevertheless, the company assured that its response teams continue to monitor the situation closely. Additionally, they explained that all relevant Government agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been notified.
Exxon has been conducting several rounds of oil spill training throughout the year. Only last month, a two-day emergency response training exercise was conducted for EEPGL staff at the Marriott hotel.
During the training, EEPGL worked with The Response Group, a United States company specialising in crisis management. Among the areas that the training covered, is responses to different levels of crisis in EEPGL’s offshore activities, such as oil spills.
At the time, EEPGL Media and Communications Manager Janelle Persaud had explained that the company takes matters such as crisis response seriously, hence the regular training. She had explained that several similar training sessions were done during this year and another major training exercise will be done by this year end.
According to Persaud, EEPGL’s incident management team also has the Regional Response team to back them up in real life. Additionally, the regional response team will be arriving in Guyana for the final training session by this year end.
There is also a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, which was handed over in October 2020 by the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips. The plan was months in the making and involved the input of many key stakeholders including the Maritime Administrative Department (MARAD), Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).
The National Emergency Oil Spill Plan was crafted with valuable inputs from the Guyana Marine Conservation Society, Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission, the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Shipping Association of Guyana, ExxonMobil, Tullow, GuyOil, Repsol, Shell, GAICO Construction and other stakeholders.
The United States has also been providing tactical and operational support to Guyana, when it comes to advancing and fortifying Guyana’s national response to oil spills. In June, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) provided a recap on the series of training and support provided to 231 persons from over 30 agencies by the United States Coast Guard in building capacity to handle such matters.
From June 2021 to April 2022, these efforts have addressed gaps in Guyana’s management of any oil spill.
