Govt closely monitoring Exxon oil production increases – Min Bharrat

…debunks APNU/AFC claims of overloaded FPSOs

The government has debunked erroneous claims from the parliamentary opposition that the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels are operating above their capacity, noting that any increases are not only closely monitored, but also catered for in production licenses.
Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament David Patterson had submitted questions for written reply to the National Assembly, in which he alleged that the Liza Destiny, Unity and Prosperity FPSO’s were exceeding their operating limits for oil production.

Nothing could be further from the truth, however, with Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat making it clear in his response that the Environmental Permits, some of which were implemented under Patterson’s former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition Government itself, permitted these increases.
“It was under the previous administration that the Liza Phase One ESIA was approved for a maximum production rate of 144,000 barrels per day for the Liza Destiny FPSO vessel. This has since been further bolstered by additional studies required by the EPA to assess the impacts of higher production at Destiny.”
“Minister Bharrat also noted that it was the APNU+AFC regime of which Patterson was involved that approved the Liza Phase 2 ESIA with a maximum production rate of 300,000 barrels per day for the Liza Unity FPSO,” a statement from the Natural Resources Ministry said.

Additionally, the ministry pointed out that the Payara Environmental Studies and Impact Assessment (ESIA) approved by the PPP/C, had allowed for a maximum production rate of 264,000 barrels of oil per day from the Prosperity FPSO. Prosperity had an initial production capacity of around 220,000 barrels of oil per day.
“It is surprising that inaccurate statements can be boldly declared (by Patterson). Even more so, when the ESIAs and their respective Environmental Permits were not only subject to public consultation but also published online,” Minister Bharrat was quoted as saying.

Oversight
Additionally, Bharrat assured that there are several layers of oversight when it comes to increases to production on the FPSOs. These include oversight from the Natural Resource Minister, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
It was revealed by the ministry that external support has been secured by the Ministry, when it comes to reviewing Exxon’s optimisation increases. The government, Bharrat noted, has a vested interest in safe optimisation since this would benefit all stakeholders, including the Ministry. There is also the fact that Exxon itself closely monitors any optimisation increases, until production is stabilised.

The ministry also noted that production optimisation is a standard practice all across the world, while FPSO’s are designed to accommodate higher production levels. This is to allow for any unpredictability with production.
Further assurances were given that optimisation tests are done to ensure that all components of the FPSO can handle higher production levels. According to Bharrat, this is also done under the close supervision of regulatory agencies.
“It must be underscored that approvals and permits would not be issued if our assessments found that the operation pushes any piece of equipment on the FPSO above its operating limits,” Bharrat was quoted in the release.
It was recently announced by ExxonMobil that the shutdown of the Liza Destiny and Unity FPSO vessels, which are necessary to install a pipeline that will be an integral part of delivering gas to the Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project, will be done this quarter.
Earlier this year at a press conference, ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge had said that during the shutdown, the company would also do debottlenecking activities on the Unity FPSO- that is, modifications to allow the vessel to produce above 250,000 barrels of oil per day.
When it comes to the Prosperity FPSO, which services Exxon’s third Payara project, the company has also been eyeing the possibility of increasing production there. Routledge had explained that they were going through reviews with government ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the EPA.