Flaring only temporary, non-routine – ExxonMobil

…says gas compressors not fully commissioned

In the wake of concerns expressed by an international group of environmentalists regarding the flaring of gas offshore Guyana by Exxon subsidiary Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), the company has sought to assure that its flaring is only temporary and that ways are being found to use the gas, in the absence of any gas to shore facilities.
In an invited comment, Exxon Public Affairs Adviser Janelle Persaud explained that by design, EEPGL’s operations do not utilise routine flaring. According to her, they use the gas both to power the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and to reinject.
“Startup for Liza Phase 1 involves temporary, non-routine flaring to fully commission the gas compression and injection systems for safe operations as outlined in the approved environmental impact assessment and permit,” Persaud said.
“The Liza Phase 1 project design eliminates routine flaring by using produced gas to power the Liza Destiny FPSO vessel and by reinjecting gas into the reservoir to conserve the gas and to improve oil recovery, thereby reducing emissions compared with traditional methods.”
According to her, they have since begun gas injection into the reservoir. Gas reinjection is a common process used by oil and gas operators to maintain pressure and enhance oil production by reinjecting gas back into the reservoir.
“We have successfully started up the gas handling system and begun gas injection into the reservoir. We continue to safely complete final commissioning of the system. This process is operationally necessary, standard in the industry and consistent with related Guyanese laws,” Persaud said. However, queries about how much gas was flared went unanswered.
It was only a few days ago that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director, Dr Adams said in an interview with this publication that the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel being used by ExxonMobil had started reinjecting gas.
He had acknowledged that in normal circumstances, ExxonMobil is not allowed to routinely flare gas during production. However, he noted that the flaring done by ExxonMobil is still catered for in their permit.
“The permit says they’re not allowed to flare routinely during production, except in cases of emergency and startup. They are in the startup mode here now. And what had happened is that the equipment was assembled onshore. It was tested on a different type of gas. So when they brought it offshore, they had to test it with the gas that is going to be produced,” he explained.
Adams had also explained that ExxonMobil had to flare the gas anyway because, at the startup, all the gas and accompanying pressure could not be reinjected.
According to Adams, going forward, flaring would not have been allowed once the project gets past this startup phase. However, he was confident that ExxonMobil now has the right design for its equipment.
But on Friday, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) released a statement in which it called on the company to stop flaring gas offshore Guyana. CIEL claimed that the flaring exceeded the levels approved by the Government, a level that now puts Guyana among the top ten gas flaring countries in the world.
“The carbon dioxide emissions from that flaring are approximately equivalent to the amount generated by Guyana’s entire population over three months,” CIEL said in its statement. “And the problem risks getting worse over time as Exxon moves forward to extract the estimated 8 billion barrels of recoverable oil it has discovered off Guyana’s coast.”