Latest update March 21st, 2025 7:03 AM
Latest News
EPA has to rely on ExxonMobil to access offshore operations
When first oil comes on stream, very few agencies will be in a position to properly regulate the sector. One key agency that will be woefully unprepared is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This stark reality came to the fore during a recent interview with EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams.
EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams
On Kaieteur Radio’s Programme called Guyana’s Oil and You, Dr. Adams admitted that the agency is facing difficulties with attracting the right human resources it needs. It is left with no choice but to scour the overseas markets to get the complement of people needed to monitor the sector.
Compounding this issue is the fact that the EPA will not have its own transportation to conduct unexpected visits at offshore operations. Dr. Adams said that the EPA would have to rely on the contractors for this.
The EPA Head said, “I do believe that 24/7 oversight is necessary. It is very important and there is no question in my mind that when you have a government employee who oversees the operations daily, things are much better. That is where we want to go. But we are not there yet and so we are at a disadvantage…”
Dr. Adams added, “They are 90 to 100 miles in the ocean and we do not have the resources to go there much less to do real time monitoring. We have to ask the contractor for transportation to go to that site. So those are some of the things we have to overcome.”
Even with the resource challenges he faces, the EPA Head said that he has some level of confidence that the operators will do all that is necessary to protect the environment as it is in their interest to prevent an oil spill from happening as well.
While the discussions have given him some level of trust that the operators are committed to safety and oil spill prevention, Dr. Adams said it is crucial for the EPA to get the funding it needs to build the agency into a first class regulator for the sector.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
“One Guyana” is no less a national slogan than “Green Guyana”
Kaieteur News- The notion that “One Guyana” is a partisan slogan is pure poppycock. It is a desperate fiction... more
If Guyana’s President Ali is the “Zelensky of the Caribbean”, who is the Putin?
Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS, Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- In the latest... more
Weekend Cartoon
