EPA's old guidelines do not cater for gas-to-energy project

EPA’s old guidelines do not cater for gas-to-energy project

Jul 14, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), six days before announcing that it would require ExxonMobil Guyana to conduct scoping meetings to guide the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed US$900M gas-to-energy project repealed the revised guidelines which govern that process.
It replaced the updated version with guidelines that date back to 2000.
Importantly, those old guidelines do not speak to the use of pipelines or onshore facilities utilising associated gases, which for this project, would be had from the Stabroek Block.
This damning revelation came to the fore last week when the EPA conducted a scoping exercise in collaboration with ExxonMobil Guyana for the project.
In fact, the EPA representative, Candacy Thompson, gave the confirmation during the consultations when it was revealed that the old guidelines only take into account some aspects of offshore oil and gas operations.
Pressed on whether the EPA would insist on full coverage insurance before any permit is granted, stakeholders were told that this was not under the remit of the EPA. The officials attached to the regulatory body insisted that the meetings are being held with the primary purpose of documenting citizens’ concerns and questions that should be taken into account for the project’s EIA.
The EPA also noted that the updated guidelines that it repealed have to undergo further review while adding that it is working with partners such as the World Bank to build its capacity. It reminded that its current 2000 guidelines are only meant to guide the independent third party in its scope for the EIA.
It was noted that when that EIA is completed, additional concerns would be taken onboard after which a decision would be taken on whether to issue a permit for the project.
Additionally, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited’s (EEPGL)—ExxonMobil Guyana—Production Manager, Mike Ryan revealed that the project is still at a concept stage and that no detailed designs have been had as yet.
Asked to comment on aspects of the operation such as the pressure of gas to be had from the pipelines, stakeholders were told that while the information was not on hand at the time, it has been handed over to the Guyana Government and as such questions should be sent in that direction.
According to the representative, the project was not one being pushed by ExxonMobil but rather it is the Guyana Government and that the US oil major is only supporting same.
It was on June 22, 2021, that the EPA announced that it had taken the decision to withdraw the Revised EIA Guidelines (2020) for Mining, Forestry, Hydropower, Thermal Power, Electricity Transmission and Offshore Petroleum Exploration and Production.
It has opted instead to use guidelines from two decades earlier, which is—the EIA Guidelines (2000) Volumes 1-5 (Generic; Forestry; Mining; and Electricity Generation).

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