Opposition briefed on ExxonMobil’s gas compressor problems

Apr 23, 2021 News

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…wants issues resolved urgently to return to optimum production

Kaieteur News – A team of Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), led by Joseph Harmon, yesterday met with President of Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Alistair Routledge, and others, for a scheduled briefing on the scaling down of production in the Stabroek Block.

This comes on the heels of problems that developed with the flash gas compressor on-board the Liza Destiny, Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, this past week.
Providing an update on the meeting, Opposition Leader Harmon in a statement revealed that the meeting was successful and that “at the heart of the issue, is the flaring of gas into the atmosphere and the operational efficiency of critical equipment.”
According to Harmon, “this matter is of considerable concern to all of us, given the impact it would have on Guyana’s earnings from the industry.”
As such, Harmon related that the opposition members have since informed the ExxonMobil team, “that we are resolutely against flaring; except when permitted at pilot light level.”
Additionally, the Opposition Leader said, “we inquired whether the people of Guyana will have to bear the cost associated with the malfunctioning equipment.” A response to the latter was not provided in Harmon’s statement.
Be that as it may, he said the opposition is insisting that the issues raised be resolved as a matter of urgency and production is safely returned to optimum levels.
He underscored that “while we seek to exploit our natural resources, we must maintain a strong commitment to doing so within a green framework with minimal effect to our environment on land and at sea and with respect for our laws.”
To this end, Harmon noted that the Opposition also raised the issue of ExxonMobil’s involvement in the gas-to-shore project and was “given a commitment of a fuller presentation on all of these matters, recognising that this is a very important project to the development of Guyana and the lives of Guyanese.”
As such, the Opposition leader reported that “overall, I am satisfied with the tone and content of the meeting” and that both sides expressed a strong desire to engage on a more regular basis.
The Opposition Leader also expressed that the meeting was the first “in what I anticipate to be a series of on-going meetings.”
The opposition members that met with the ExxonMobil President included: Khemraj Ramjattan, Amanza Walton-Desir, David Patterson, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, Ronald Cox, Roysdale Forde and Aubrey Norton, the Executive Director of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.
Routledge was accompanied by his Production Manager, Mike Ryan and Janelle Persaud, ExxonMobil Guyana’s Public and Government Affairs Advisor.
Harmon revealed yesterday too that the meeting was called since the political opposition had been bombarded with questions and concerns “from the public and our supporters and therefore took the opportunity to engage with Exxon to benefit from their direct explanations and to inform them of our position on the issues.”
The meeting yesterday was preceded by a statement from ExxonMobil which had indicated that the defective equipment would take some three months to be repaired.
Harmon last Thursday requested the meeting with the ExxonMobil team, following reports that it had to slash production by some 90,000 barrels of oil, in order to maintain safe operations with flaring at pilot levels.
According to Harmon at the time, ExxonMobil’s performance appeared to be far below expectations.
ExxonMobil last week Tuesday, reported that while conducting the final testing phase of the reinstalled flash gas compressor and other components of the system on the Liza Destiny FPSO, “we encountered an additional problem with the discharge silencer.”
The company said that a team from SBM Offshore, MAN Energy Solutions and ExxonMobil are on site to assess repairs, with support from engineering experts in Europe and the USA.
On Wednesday, ExxonMobil reported that the defective discharge silencer was removed for further assessment of the damage and to determine the necessary scope of repairs and or modifications.
The company said it estimated that repairs or replacement will take approximately three months.
It was noted too that that the company had begun to slowly ramp up production to between 100,000 and 110,000 barrels per day at a flare level of no more than 15 million cubic feet per day and that the parameters were defined after careful consideration and discussions with the relevant government agencies.

 

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