Guyana does not have equipment needed to respond to large oil spills

Nov 20, 2022 News

– AG appeals for stock taking of assets available nationally, regionally and internationally to help with response

Kaieteur News – Auditor General, Deodat Sharma is appealing to the authorities for there to be a stocktaking exercise of all assets available nationally, regionally and internationally, for a quick response to an oil spill incident.

Auditor General, Deodat Sharma

Sharma said this exercise must see a proper inventory being established which then informs the country’s National Oil Spill Contingency Plan.

In his performance audit report of the plan, Sharma said the inventory should be compiled appropriate to the risks assessed and the ranges of environmental operating conditions at possible spill locations.

Sharma was keen to note that his urgent recommendation is premised on the fact that a list of all response resources available for national-level response to an oil spill is still to be compiled by the Civil Defence Commission.

Sharma said in his report, “The Head of the Civil Defence Commission explained that the response resources readily available are appropriate for responding to small spills but not medium or large oil spills. A list of response resources is referenced in the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan however; it only represents the equipment that is currently available in Guyana.”

The AG continued, “It was explained that negotiations with contractors are ongoing for them to provide response resources including personnel as needed to respond to oil spills.” As a result, Sharma said it could not be determined what overall response resources are available for responding to oil spills of various sizes.

Sharma was also keen to point out that a minimum level of pre-positioned response equipment was not established. In this regard, he said rapid access to response resources is critical to executing a timely and effective response to oil spills to minimise impacts.

Under the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) convention, he said government is required to establish a minimum level of pre-positioned equipment (whether owned or available through agreements with other countries, industry or private contractors) to facilitate easy and timely deployment in the event of an oil spill. He reiterated that a minimum level of pre-positioned response equipment was not established and in place, adding that most of the government-owned equipment including oil containment booms is stored at the Coast Guard Headquarters located at Ruimveldt in Georgetown while privately owned equipment is stored on the West Bank of Demerara.

Sharma recommended that the Civil Defence Commission in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders, take the necessary steps to ensure all the required elements in keeping with international guidelines and best practices, are addressed in Guyana’s National Contingency Plan to ensure a safe, efficient and effective response in the event of an oil spill.

In response, the CDC said it now has a complete list of resources held by various organisations and agencies across Guyana. The lists include equipment held locally, regionally, and internationally by CGX and ExxonMobil.

It said, “It must be noted that a work in progress is to establish the minimum holdings that the country must own and have available at any one time. In addition, there is expressed and urgent need for the technical agencies to have standing agreements with third-party suppliers of equipment and services who may be called upon at short notice should the need arise.”

Furthermore, the CDC said it would be instrumental to also note that there is a Mutual Aid agreement across operators where they have agreed to share and leverage their resources in a combined effort if needed.

On call are also international and regional resources depending on the scale and magnitude of the incident, the Commission shared.

Regarding the preposition of equipment, the Commission said government has resources prepositioned at the Guyana Defense Force headquarters, the Guyana Fire Service headquarters and the CDC Warehouse Timehri.

In keeping with what the AG recommended, it acknowledged that, “there is an urgent need to develop the list of minimum equipment to be held and prepositioned with the understanding that it ranges from Offshore, Coastline and Inshore rated capabilities.” It committed to achieving this with urgency.

In relation to human resources and trained personnel, the CDC was also keen to note that it coordinated capacity building training for personnel across many local state agencies and organisations. It said one must bear in mind that an oil spill response is new to Guyana, and it requires time to train persons in various areas to attain competencies needs to drive the plan.

Through partnerships with the US Government and other bodies, the CDC said it has a database of trained personnel who may be called upon to play various roles in oil spill response. In 2022, it noted that a National Oil Spill Response Exercise was held which included the following components: tabletop, communication, command post and field tactical. This exercise facilitated testing of personnel and the national plan. An upcoming exercise is expected to facilitate further training opportunities and testing of the national plan.

Sharma said it is critical that Guyana has a strong contingency plan to fall back on especially when one considers the environmental risks at hand. Sharma said oil released into the ocean from a spill can spread very rapidly and may threaten the shorelines of several countries, if not promptly contained.

As previously mentioned, the approved Environmental Impact Assessments for the current oil projects being undertaken by Exxon indicate that a potential oil spill can impact areas outside of Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone. These areas include Guyana’s Continental and Caribbean neighbours such as Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Martinique, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.