Guyana must acquire latest technology to ensure accurate meter reading for oil

Sep 24, 2019 News

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-But Customs must retain right to be present on storage vessel –IMF

By Kiana Wilburg

If Guyana intends to get its fair share of oil from the Stabroek Block, then it has to invest in the latest technology that would record accurate measurements of the quantity being extracted and exported by ExxonMobil and its partners. This is according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In its most recent advice to the APNU+AFC Government, the financial institution underscored the importance of Guyana having all the necessary measures in place to monitor every drop of oil. The IMF said that if Guyana makes use of the latest technology, accurate meter reading of the oil can be conveyed to the Guyana Revenue Authority’s customs department, therefore eliminating the need for a permanent or regular presence of customs officers during the oil lifting operations.
While the use of the latest technology will bring immense benefits, the IMF stressed that GRA’s Customs Department should not relinquish its right to make visits to the Liza Destiny , Guyana’s first Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
In fact, the international agency said that Customs officers should visit the FPSO from time to time to ensure that agreed procedures are being adhered to by ExxonMobil as well as to assert Guyana’s sovereignty over FPSO operations.
The IMF reminded that the FPSO is a significant component of the Liza Phase One development which involves four undersea drill centers with 17 production wells. It has a production capacity up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day and an overall storage volume of 1.6 million barrels.
Kaieteur News understands that the FPSO will be connected to the wells via separate production (oil, gas, and produced water), gas injection, and water injection flowlines and risers, and associated subsea equipment. The Project will also involve shorebase facilities and marine/aviation services to support development drilling, FPSO and subsea equipment installation, production operations, and ultimately decommissioning.
ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) says it will utilize proven and industry accepted standards and has incorporated many embedded controls into the overall Project design to minimize environmental and socioeconomic impacts. The initial production is expected to begin by mid 2020, with operations continuing for at least 20 years. The Project is expected to employ up to 600 persons during well drilling, approximately 600 persons at the peak of the installation stage, and up to about 140 persons during production operations.
Furthermore, the planned activities of the Liza Phase One Project are predicted to have minor impacts on physical resources (i.e., air quality, marine sediments, and water quality), no impacts on coastal biological resources, minor impacts on marine biological resources, and largely positive impacts on socioeconomics.
This news agency understands that these predictions are based on the fact that the bulk of the project activity will occur approximately 190 km (~120 miles) offshore, and the project will capture and re-inject produced natural gas, which is not used as fuel on the FPSO, back into the Liza reservoir; treat required wastewater streams prior to discharge to the sea; have a very small physical footprint (e.g., infrastructure construction disturbs only about 0.3 km2 of benthic habitat); and use Marine Mammal Observers (MMO) during selected activities to minimize the potential impacts to marine mammals due to auditory injury and ships strikes.
As it relates to unplanned events, EEPGL’s Environmental Impact Assessment notes that a large oil spill is unlikely to occur because of the extensive preventative measures employed by EEPGL. Nevertheless, the document notes that an oil spill is considered possible, and EEPGL has conducted oil spill modeling to evaluate the range of likely spill trajectories and rates of travel.
It was noted that the location of the project 190 km (~120 mi) offshore, prevailing northwest currents, the light nature of the Liza field crude oil, and the region’s warm waters would all help minimize the severity of a spill. Accounting for these factors, the modeling indicates only a five to 10 percent probability of any oil reaching the Guyana coast, without taking into consideration the effectiveness of any oil spill response, and in the unlikely event that a spill were even to occur.
Although the probability of an oil spill reaching the Guyana coast is very small, the EIA notes that a spill at a Liza well would likely impact marine resources found near the well, such as sea turtles and certain marine mammals that may transit or inhabit the area impacted by a spill. Air quality, water quality, seabirds, and marine fish could also be impacted, although likely to a lesser extent because the duration of acute impacts would not be long and the impacts are reversible.

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