Exxon forges ahead with fibre cable in Stabroek Block

Apr 20, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil Guyana, the operator with majority stake in the Stabroek Block, is forging ahead with its drive to install its own fibre optic cable to support its Guyana offshore and onshore operations.

The Liza Destiny FPSO from where the cable will be connected.

As such, the company is currently looking to identify companies that can provide small boat and fishing liaison services locally, to complement its offshore installation of a subsea fibre cable in the near shore environment.
The company had announced the initiative some years ago, with ExxonMobil’s local operating company, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), in 2019, commencing activities for support services that will help in acquiring a permit for the network.
Dubbed, the ‘Fibre Optic Enablement Project,’ EEPGL said at the time, it was “seeking to identify suppliers who can provide environmental and regulatory support services, for the permitting of a subsea fibre optic network connecting offshore facilities in the Stabroek Block to cable stations onshore Georgetown.”
The proposed fibre cable is being networked to the nerve of ExxonMobil’s offshore oil production platform in the Stabroek Block—the Liza Destiny.
It will allow for the flow of real time information between ExxonMobil and other stakeholders, with regards to the operations on board the production platform.
A project summary published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes that the installation activities be concluded in the third quarter of this year.
According to the available summary, the fibre optic cable will establish a foundation for “high-speed, low latency connectivity of onshore and offshore facilities to Guyana’s foundation infrastructure, allowing implementation of digital technology to improve productivity, support remote operations, and support reliability” through process monitoring and inspection.
This publication understands that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is expected to benefit from the landed cable, to aid in its monitoring of ExxonMobil’s offshore operations.
The tax agency had said that it would have a CCTV system set up — following the installation of a fibre optic cable —in order to provide the authority with a 24/7 capability with regards to its monitoring activities onboard the Liza Destiny.
The agency has had to rely heavily on vessels which come to shore for whatever reason, to report on what’s happening offshore through various forms, utilising regulations in the Customs Act.
The Liza Destiny, Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, was appointed a sufferance wharf and private warehouse, pursuant to the Customs Act issued under Section 2 and Part 4 of the Act.

A sufferance wharf is a place, other than an approved place of loading and offloading by the Revenue Authority, where a senior customs officer may, by discretion and under certain conditions, allow the loading and offloading of goods.
As such, the Liza Destiny vessel is subject to all customs regulations, which concern sufferance wharves.
It is that classification that gives GRA the authority to conduct its surveillance.
Following the installation of the connection to the Liza Phase One operation, Exxon intends to connect to the Liza Phase Two operation in 2022, when the project is slated to come on stream.