Exxon’s flaring this year equivalent to the removal of 1.6M acres of forest

Dec 22, 2020 News

By Mikaila Prince

Exxon flaring at its Liza Destiny FPSO.

Map indicating the area equivalent to Exxon’s flaring for one year.

Kaieteur News – Just two days ago, ExxonMobil announced that it had ceased its significant flaring of toxic natural gas at its Liza Phase One operations, its first commercial investment offshore of Guyana. This development followed after Exxon, which prides itself on being an effective manager of emissions, failed to mitigate flaring at Liza One for one year.
Recent details from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now show that in that same year, ExxonMobil would have flared 12.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day, equivalent to the removal of 1.6M acres of forest. In simpler terms, this means that Exxon flared toxic natural gas that could have been offset by a forest the size of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
Yesterday, Acting Director of the EPA, Sharifah Razack, in a report indicated that as of December 15, the total volume of gas flared from the Liza One operation was 12.429 billion of standard cubic feet (BSCF) of gas. Her report had also stated that an average of 8.310 million standard cubic feet per day of gas was flared during December, while adding that flaring was reduced to 0.661 million standard cubic feet per day by the reporting date.
“The total volume of gas injected as of 15 December, 2020, at the Liza One operation was 12.895 BSCF with an injection volume of 126.416 million standard cubic feet per day of gas reached on 15 December, 2020 itself,” the EPA report stated.
Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) reported that it experienced safe and steady operations during the prior week, with an average production of 105 kilo barrels per day and average flaring at 8.6 thousand cubic feet per day.
The EPA indicated that the third stage Flash Gas Compressor (FGC) completed its Phase Three Test programme, including a 72 hour run on December 5, with both the LP and MP Compressors running and a flare at safety pilot levels. During the test programme, monitoring and control parameters were developed for ongoing operations.
The FCG was shut down on December 8, the EPA noted, in preparation for restart on December 11. Following this, the FCG is said to have undergone a seven-day endurance run to ensure reliability and to monitor operating conditions and any issues in order to make final procedural improvements for reliable operations.
Importantly, Liza One is currently operating at pilot flare, which is said to provide the ignition source for combustion.
Notably, at the end of October, the company had flared more than 16M cubic feet of natural gas, thereby making Guyana one of the top five countries in the world for volume flared per year, per capita. In September, Guyana had trailed Libya, Gabon, Oman, Qatar and Iraq, in total gas flared per capita, judging from statistics from the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report (July, 2020). However, the increased flaring in October caused Guyana to surpass Iraq.
The company claimed it had to flare, since its gas compression equipment was defective and needed to undergo repairs overseas. The repairs reportedly proved difficult to undergo with haste, given limitations the COVID-19 pandemic safety guidelines have placed on companies.
Even as Guyana pursues the exploitation of its resources in the Stabroek Block, Conservationist, Annette Arjoon-Martins, had categorically stated that the authorities of the day must not neglect the nation’s commitment to addressing climate change. Arjoon-Martins had said Guyana’s authorities need to, at all times, factor in the environmental costs of projects.
The Conservationist had said to this publication, “Environmental costs associated with flaring have a significant impact on our climate and is conveniently pushed aside since these costs are not monetized in our management of these sectors like oil and gas. This untenable situation is exacerbated by failing to account for medium and longer term impacts in planning by thinking of the current impacts.”
She added, “We may not feel the impacts of flaring now but this is certainly affecting our climate for future generations. Thinking only of the current is short sighted to the detriment of our sustainable development of future generations.”
Arjoon-Martins had also noted that Guyana has signed on to several international and bilateral agreements including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Guyana Norway Bilateral Cooperation on climate and forests. The advocate for the protection of the environment said it is critical that every man, woman, and child understand that the recent spike in flaring puts these in jeopardy as it is counter to those commitments.