Nat’l Oil Spill Plan still a work in progress – Minister of State

Feb 23, 2018 News

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon

Nat’l Oil Spill Plan still a work in progress – Minister of State
Even though oil production is set to kick off in 2020, the Government is still to complete a national oil spill response plan.
This was confirmed yesterday by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon.
He was at the time, responding to questions from this newspaper as it relates to the oil spill response plan and a timeline for its completion. The Minister said that while he could not provide a timeline for the completion of the project, “it remains a work in progress.”
Harmon said, “(Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael) Trotman addressed to this at the Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit (GIPEX), that work is going on in that regard and it involves the Civil Defence Commission, and the communities that are part of an ongoing outreach by not only ExxonMobil, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Environment…”
The Cabinet Secretary added, “So the plan is not complete. It is a work in progress and we trust that at the end of it, we will have a plan that we are all comfortable with. I can say that we are getting good advice on international best practices in this regard…”

OPTIMISM

From all indications, it appears that the coalition administration is confident that the necessary safeguards are in place to deal with any possible environmental implication that would result from petroleum operations offshore Guyana.
In fact, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman noted a few weeks ago that like many members of civil society, the topic of oil spill response and preparedness is something he is concerned about.
The Minister stated, “I know there have been different interpretations, but ExxonMobil has demonstrated that it is doing all that it can do and it has acquired the very best of technology that the world has to offer to date, for design and construction of FPSO and various subsea architecture to deploy…We are also working with the Civil Defence Commission while preparing a national response plan.”
Trotman added, “I have seen a draft of it and it is in various stages of development. We are also seeking training from the US Coast Guard and speaking with other Governments for support…We are not at all taking this for granted. It is something that we are very concerned about…”

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