Gas-to-Energy project can result in chronic hardships for farmers

Apr 27, 2022 News

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…quality of crops will be impacted – Exxon warns

Kaieteur News – The planned Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project to be built at Wales, West Bank Demerara can result in long-term hardships for farmers within close proximity to the plant and pipeline, as impacts to their agricultural products could extend beyond the construction phase to the operations stage of the facility.
This is according to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) compiled by ExxonMobil’s Consultant, the Environmental Resources Management (ERM).
Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), an affiliate of Exxon, will be pursuing the pipeline aspect of the venture, which will facilitate the transportation of the gas from the Liza One and Liza Two fields to the Wales facility.

The EIA explains that the project’s use of land when construction starts and during the operation stage will reduce access to land for agriculture and other purposes. It added that the loss of access to personal properties can result in temporary and/or permanent economic displacement for people who may depend on these lands for their livelihoods, employment, and/or income-generating activities.
This impact will be relevant to rice fields, north and south of Crane, West Minister/ Lust-en-Rust rice fields and pineapple and mixed crops in the northern part of Canal Number Two and the south and northern half of Canal Number One.
During the construction stage, ERM explained that surface disturbance to facilitate the construction of the pipeline, the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Plant, ancillary facilities and temporary construction sites will affect several hectares of agricultural land.
Specifically, 16.82 hectares of active rice farming, 3.08 hectares of active pineapple/mixed crops farming, and 8.25 hectares of inactive sugarcane fields is anticipated to be disturbed. Other surface disturbances is associated with grasslands, shrublands, swamps, bamboo, palm, early successional forests, and other vegetation, much of which is found in overgrown fields, the EIA details.
ERM noted, “Combined, the affected rice and pineapple farming areas amount to an estimated 19.89 hectares, representing approximately 14.4 percent of the total surface disturbance during the construction stage. However, if the permanent onshore pipeline (Right of Way) RoW (discussed below for the Operations stage) is excluded, the temporary construction areas will remove access to 11.29 hectares of existing rice fields, and 2.64 hectares of pineapple/mixed crops.”
The Consultant said that even though the pipeline could affect current livelihoods, the total number of land users who would be affected is unknown and the degree of dependency on agricultural activities is also unknown.
The environmental impact assessment goes on to say, “For the mixed crops identified south of the proposed NGL Plant and heavy haul road, the potential loss of access to croplands resulting from physical displacement would be more significant, and could result in chronic hardship for affected farmers.”
Similarly, at or near the NGL Plant site, the loss of lands used for subsistence sugarcane farming and cattle grazing could also amount to economic displacement for affected farmers.
Temporary construction areas will be restored to pre-construction condition, but the change will persist for more than a year and is therefore considered “continuous and long-term” in the EIA.

Near the proposed NGL Plant, which is to be constructed by the government at Wales, impacts to a section of mixed crops south of the proposed NGL Plant and heavy haul road, and possible sugarcane and grazing areas in/near to the NGL Plant footprint are also likely.
To this end, the EIA said that such changes could affect farmers’ ability to engage in their current livelihood(s) at the same level of productivity.
Beyond the construction phase, farmers can brace for additional impacts as their overall quality of produce can be reduced. The document says that, “the Project could also result in a change in the quality of agricultural crops harvested from the Primary Study Area. This could result as an indirect effect of dust deposition during the construction stage, which could conceivably extend beyond the project footprint to affect adjacent areas.”
The EIA said that construction activities could generate dust through vegetation clearing, earthworks, and movement of equipment and vehicles on unpaved surfaces. Dust emissions from construction areas could be deposited on nearby crops, and could adversely affect crop growth or productivity.
ERM noted that dust levels will be actively monitored so that additional dust management measures can be implemented if required. “Timely revegetation of disturbed areas will also be implemented following construction; success of revegetation efforts will also be monitored. Based on the result of dust monitoring during onshore pipeline construction, additional mitigations will be developed, as needed,” EEPGL outlines.
The developer has pledged to support the government to develop and implement a Resettlement and Livelihood Restoration Strategy aligned with “international standards”.
The project
The project will involve capturing associated gas produced from crude oil production operations on the Liza Phase 1 (Destiny) and Liza Phase 2 (Unity) Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, transporting approximately 50 million standard cubic feet per day.
Construction will begin after the company receives all necessary authorisations, with a target date of August 2022 for start of NGL Plant site preparation, and will take approximately three years. The combined offshore and onshore pipeline system is targeted to be ready to deliver rich gas by end of 2024, and the NGL Plant is targeted to be operational by mid-2025. The project has a planned life cycle of at least 25 years.
The aspect of the project for which the oil company is responsible, that is to say, the installation of the offshore and onshore pipelines, is set to cost a whopping US$1.3B.

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