Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo says that the capability of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) needs to be enhance in order to handle the issues emanating from the oil and gas sector, as well as other industries in Guyana.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
Currently, the EPA is grappling with having US oil giant, ExxonMobil, to contain the flaring of gas from its oil operations in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.
The company has been experiencing issues with the compressor, which has failed while they were commissioning the compressor to inject the gas. When oil is being extracted, other substances including water also comes up from the ocean floor. International best practice is that the oil is separated and the “waste” is disposed of by being re-injected into the earth’s surface.
However, with Exxon having to send the equipment to Germany to get fixed, the company has flared over 10 billion cubic feet from its operations offshore.
During a recent interview on Kaieteur Radio, Jagdeo pointed out that that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has already taken a position on this matter, that is, they want to adopt industry best practices regarding flaring.
He noted that they have even indicated this to Exxon as they currently negotiate the Payara Development Plan – the oil company’s third development project in the Stabroek Block.
The Vice President recognizes that the environmental provisions governing the relationship between the Guyana and the companies must be properly enshrined in the contracts – in the core contract or in the development plans.
But he noted that once those provisions are there, they have to be enforced which would require developing the capability to do so.
“So, a number of things will have to be put in place… But EPA’s capability to manage this must be enhanced,” he asserted.
Jagdeo was quick to point out, however, that in doing so that the Agency cannot become a humbug to investment in not just the oil and gas sector.
“We want to strike that balance… because a lot of people have projects now and we get an enourmous amount of complaints about small projects with very little impact on the environment outside the oil and gas that they have to wait forever to get an EPA permit often… So we want the agency to safeguard the country – our people’s welfare and the environment but at the same time we want to be open to economic develop,” he posited.
The Vice President went onto to note that the government wants to have this advanced capability in not just the EPA but across the various entities that will be handling the petroleum sector. In fact, he noted that they are hoping to build a “core team” of Guyanese expertise to manage the sector in the future.
Exxon, which along with its partners are operating the Stabroek Block which contains an estimated eight billion barrels of oil, has been flagged for at least six flaring incidents in the past 12 months and has been fined by the EPA.
Back in June, the company had scaled back its production of oil offshore Guyana in a bid to cut down on flaring.
EPA Director Dr Vincent Adams had revealed at the time that after discussions, the company had all agreed to cut back oil production from 80 million barrels per day to 25 to 30 million barrels per day so as to not exceed flaring 15 million cubic feet per day.
Currently, the company is flaring between 12 to 15 million cubic feet per day
In the midst of criticism regarding its volume of flaring, Exxon’s Public Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, had told the Guyana Times in June that Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) – Exxon’s subsidiary – has made some headway in fixing and fully commissioning its gas handling system in order to cut down on the harmful flaring.
She had explained that they are currently injecting and utilising 85 per cent of the gas produced in the Stabroek Block while they finalise the commissioning of the gas handling system.
“We have two of the three gas handling systems online and are currently injecting or using 85 per cent of the produced gas from the reservoir. With gas reinjection online, we are able to ramp up production and reduce flaring,” Persaud had stated.
She further explained that when the system is fully commissioned, Exxon will be able to produce at full capacity. Moreover, she stressed that minimising flaring is actually one of ExxonMobil’s priorities.
“Once the system is fully commissioned, we will be able to produce at full capacity. Both the safety of the people working on the Liza Destiny and our efforts to minimise flaring are key priorities for ExxonMobil Guyana,” Persaud had noted.
The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) had released a statement in which it had called on the company to stop flaring gas offshore Guyana. CIEL had claimed that the flaring exceeded the levels approved by the Government, putting Guyana among the top ten gas flaring countries in the world at the time.
