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Liza 1 can safely pump 144,000 barrels per day – EPA Head clarifies
By Kiana Wilburg
Kaieteur News – In light of concerns reported in the local media that ramped up production levels on the Liza Destiny Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel could leave Guyana exposed to grave dangers, Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kemraj Parsram, has come forward to categorically state that nothing could be further from the truth.
An extract of the Liza Phase One EIA which highlights that production can occur safely beyond 120,000 barrels of oil per day and that impacts noted in the EIA were considered at peaks of 144,000 barrels of oil per day.
Parsram was keen to note that the Liza Destiny does have a design capacity of 100,000 barrels oil per day. While this is confirmed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Liza Phase One Project, Parsram noted that the very document states that production can “safely occur” beyond the design capacity.The EPA Head cited specifically Page 28 of the EIA which speaks to the production levels of the Liza Destiny. That section of the document states: “The FPSO vessel to be utilized for the Project will be a VLCC tanker, which utilizes a spread moored configuration to maintain station continuously for at least 20 years. The FPSO will be designed to receive the full production wellstream from the development wells and will process crude oil at a design rate of 100,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD), with potential to safely operate at sustained peaks of up to approximately 120,000 BOPD. For the purposes of this EIA, potential impacts generated by the Project will be based on the highest potential oil production volume, which is conservatively based on 144,000 BOPD….”
With the foregoing in mind, the Lead Environmental Regulator said it is the understanding of the agency that 144,000 barrels is safe while adding that it is on this basis that approval was granted to the American subsidiary operating the Stabroek block, being Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL). “So it is not dangerous at all, we considered it based on the EIA and the safeguards are in the permit. All this talk of a fresh EIA being done since production has been ramped up beyond 120,000 barrels is not necessary,” expressed Parsram.
EPA Head, Kemraj Parsram
The EPA Chief also noted that in the event that there is any variance that is needed for production or for any aspect of the project, environmental authorization must be had from the EPA. “…We also have the discretion to request any further scientific assessment based on the change being requested and that has been the practice over the years,” Parsram noted.
The foregoing comments from the EPA Head come on the heels of a publication in the Kaieteur News’ Wednesday edition which quoted the concerns of the former EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams. He is of the firm conviction that ExxonMobil’s ramped up production is not safe for the country and could very well increase the potential of an oil spill in the Stabroek Block. Dr. Adams said it is in the best interest of the country to have a fresh assessment of the impacts of the increased production. But the current EPA Head, as noted earlier, disagrees.
While the Liza Destiny is producing around 124,000 barrels of oil per day, John Hess, Head of Hess Corporation (which holds a 30 percent stake in the Stabroek Block), revealed a few months ago that ExxonMobil’s affiliate, EEPGL, plans to optimize the capacity of the Liza Destiny to produce as much as 140,000 barrels of oil to 150,000.
With respect to vessels for future projects, he said once they spend about a year in operation, each ship will undergo an optimization or debottlenecking exercise which would see capacity increase between 10 to 15 percent.
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