Exxon moves ahead with Gas-to-Energy project

May 06, 2022 News

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…as citizens remain in the dark over feasibility

Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil is running full speed ahead with its Gas to Energy pipeline, to be constructed at Wales, West Bank Demerara in Region Three; even as the country remains in the dark regarding the feasibility of the project.

Works for the project is slated to commence by August, after the oil company receives the requisite approvals to start their aspect of the project, that is, the laying of the onshore and offshore pipelines to transport the gas from the Liza One and Two sites in the Stabroek Block.
In the meantime, the company has submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), which will be developing the project.
To this end, the developer has 11 planned consultations to hear from the public, commencing on Monday, May 9. The meetings will take place in Regions One, Three, Four, Five and Six. On Monday, the company will host its first community meeting in Region Five at the Latchman Singh Primary School, West Coast Berbice, commencing at 10:00hrs. In Region Six, the first meeting will take place on Tuesday at the #66 Fish port Complex, Corentyne Berbice. In Region Four, one of the consultations will take place at the Umana Yana on May 11 at 16:00hrs.
One meeting will be hosted in Region Two at the Townhall, Anna Regina from 09:00hrs on May 12. Meanwhile, three meetings are expected to be held in Region Three, with the first slated for May 13 at the Leonora Technical Institute, West Coast Demerara from 15:00hrs.
In a notice published in the daily newspapers, the oil company explained, “The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), together with the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Gas to Energy Project was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for evaluation and recommendations.” As such, it added, “Face-to-face sessions will be held with the information on the Gas to Energy Project, the EPA Environmental Authorization process, and the findings from the assessment to support public awareness.”
The EIA document states that there will be impacts to the direct area of influence (AOI) as well as the indirect AOI. Within the direct AOI, residents can be impacted by the offshore and onshore pipeline, the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant, to be built by the government, as well as the temporary materials offloading facility Exxon will construct to support its project.
When it comes to the indirect AOIs, these communities can be impacted by unplanned events such as fuel spills from construction vessels. In fact, Exxon said that “portions of these regions could be meaningfully impacted from indirect adverse environmental and social impacts (e.g., interference with fisheries activities during offshore pipeline installation), and/or positive socioeconomic benefits (e.g., job creation, purchasing of services and goods).”
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat recently told this newspaper, “That project will deliver cheaper electricity, cleaner electricity and reliable electricity,” to Guyanese, while moving the country forward in its value added sector. Guyana has not been able to access its full value of natural resources since the nation continues to export raw materials, the minister pointed out. He said that the production of processed or value added goods is where Guyana will see real benefits.
Minister Bharrat was asked by reporters whether citizens could expect an updated feasibility study that would address the concerns of those unconvinced sectors of society. To this, he responded, “Sometimes we have to look at the benefits of projects too.”
So far, what is available is a feasibility study that was conducted in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) under the Coalition administration. The objective of that study which was conducted by international agency, Energy Narrative was to determine the overall feasibility of transporting natural gas from offshore Guyana, building an Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) separation plant and a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) production plant to market the liquids from the natural gas stream, as well as building a new electricity generation station to use the remaining dry natural gas.
The study found that the project’s financial feasibility hinges on the price of natural gas that will be negotiated between Guyana and ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), a discussion that is said to be ongoing.
Back in March last year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said no such study is being conducted as that element is a “no-brainer.” “The financial aspect is a no-brainer. Any sensible person with a modicum of sense, a tiny brain, even a residual brain, would understand that,” he said.

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