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ExxonMobil had flared early January; claims it lasted less than hours
By Kemol King
Flaring on January 13 (Photo: Annette Arjoon’s Facebook)
Kaieteur News – A lesser-known fact about ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase One operation at the Stabroek Block is that it experienced an equipment malfunction, which caused massive flaring early in January. That makes the current issue the third – not second – equipment malfunction, which resulted in flaring above pilot level – the minimum levels of flaring required to maintain a safe operation.
It was January 13 that the issue was encountered. Conservationist, Annette Arjoon, had posted a photo of flaring at the Liza Destiny Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, showing a dark plume of smoke floating upward. ExxonMobil had reported it to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
When Kaieteur News reached out to ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) for a comment, Government and Public Affairs advisor, Janelle Persaud, was quick to state that there has been no routine flaring since the gas compressor was fixed in the month prior.
ExxonMobil had finally reported in December 2020 that it managed to fix its defective equipment, which brought an end to flaring of millions of cubic feet of gas per day for an entire year. ExxonMobil did not consider this routine.
“There has been no routine flaring on the Liza Destiny since the gas compressor was fixed,” she said. “However, on January 13, there was an unexpected temporary outage of a piece of equipment on the vessel, which was returned to normal operations less than two hours later.”
ExxonMobil has not said the cause of the malfunction, which occurred on January 13. It is unclear whether it is linked to the current issue, which was announced on January 29, which also caused flaring to return to above pilot levels.
The defective gas compressor has been fully repaired, according to a Thursday update from Production Manager, Mike Ryan. A new compressor has also been ordered and will be available closer to the end of the year, Persaud had told Kaieteur News.
ExxonMobil has insisted that it has at all times been in compliance with its permits.
“It is important to note,” Persaud told Kaieteur News, “that flaring is a necessary safety control process conducted to consume excess hydrocarbons during shutdown, start-up and certain other non-routine activities. Otherwise, flaring is maintained at pilot levels, which is less than 1 percent of the produced gas. Relevant government regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission have been and continue to be notified of our offshore activities through comprehensive daily reports.”
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