On the heels of criticism regarding its volume of flaring, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has made some headway in fixing and fully commissioning its gas handling system in order to cut down on the harmful flaring.
This publication reached out to Exxon Public Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, who 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.
The Liza Destiny FPSO
“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 informed.
Persaud 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.”
“We will continue to work with the Government of Guyana, including the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy, to operate safely and in accordance with our Environmental Impact Assessment and permit,” Persaud had also said.
Local conservationists have been up in arms over Exxon’s flaring. Skytruth, an international environmentalist nonprofit Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) was enlisted by local environmental group Guyana Marine Conservation Society (GMCS) to provide satellite imagery and data regarding flaring offshore Guyana. The imagery, as referenced by Skytruth, had indicated routine flaring.
It was also reported in sections of the media that international lawyer Melinda Janki, in collaboration with chartered accountants Anand Goolsarran and Nigel Hinds and political commentator Ramon Gaskin, wrote the World Bank over Exxon’s flaring. Only recently, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) had released a statement in which it called on the company to stop flaring gas offshore Guyana. CIEL had 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 had 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.”
Last week, EPA Director Dr Vincent Adams had revealed that Exxon Mobil had scaled back its production of oil offshore Guyana in a bid to cut down on flaring, a decision it reached after a meeting with the agency.
“What we did, we said they cannot stray more than (the limit). They started out flaring about 80 million cubic feet per day. And then, when they were commissioning the compressor to inject the gas, the compressor failed,” Adams explained.
“So, when they were commissioning the compressor, it started working. So, they cut back the gas flaring from 80 million cubic feet per day to 15. Then the compressor failed again. So basically, after discussions with them, they all agreed that they should cut back oil production from 80 million barrels per day to 25 to 30 million barrels per day. So, they would not go above that 15 million cubic feet per day.”
When it comes to the troublesome gas compressor, Adams had revealed that the equipment is still giving problems and moreover, EEPGL had reported being unable to source technical assistance from the manufacturers, such as technological and engineering manufacturer Siemens.
