ExxonMobil allowed to break Laws of Guyana while Locals are being prosecuted – Former EPA Head

Dec 29, 2022 News

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…Govt. playing with fire with no parent guarantee for oil spills

Kaieteur News – Upon reflection of the Government’s management of the oil and gas sector, former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams said there are two alarming issues all Guyanese must raise their voices against.

He said the citizenry ought to be outraged that for two years, the PPPC Administration has allowed ExxonMobil Corporation through its subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) to operate two ships, the Liza Destiny and the Liza Unity, without securing a full coverage liability. He recalled that the Government has only secured a US$600M per occurrence coverage and is yet to tell the nation the status of talks for a US$2B parent guarantee for the Stabroek Block from Exxon.

Dr. Adams said what is even more disturbing is that in the absence of such parent guarantee, ExxonMobil is pumping oil beyond the approved safety limits for the Liza Destiny. He noted that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Liza Phase One Project outlines the safe operating limit as 120,000 barrels of oil per day. Exxon is now pumping 150,000 barrels per day.

Taking this state of affairs into consideration, Dr. Adams said 2022 has been plagued by poor governance. He said with the absence of a parent guarantee-Guyanese authorities are playing with fire.

During his recent appearance on Kaieteur Radio’s Programme, Guyana’s Oil and You, Dr. Adams said, “I wish I could report good news about the Government’s performance this year but unfortunately I cannot. Exxon has been allowed to get away with thumbing their noses at our Laws and an excellent example to start with is the full liability coverage which means securing financial protection from the parent company to cover all costs if something happens.”

Dr. Adams recalled that when he had served as the EPA’s Chief, Exxon had agreed in writing to comply with the provision of full coverage. He said Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, had also admitted to this when he last appeared on the Glenn Lall Show.

Much to his disappointment, Guyana has been running for two years without a parent guarantee that would ensure it does not go bankrupt. Dr. Adams said it is very disturbing that the Administration is neglecting its responsibility to ensure that the Rule of Law is complied with.

He said citizens ought to hold the Government accountable for such reckless endangerment. “Exxon is essentially breaking the law and they are allowed to get away with it. Why aren’t they prosecuted for their actions? But we will send the full force of the Law to unleash retribution on Locals for illegal acts with lesser consequences,” expressed the former EPA Head.

While Dr. Adams’ concerns are also shared with other industry stakeholders, the Government appears to be nonchalant in addressing same. At a Press Conference held two months ago, the Vice President was asked to address the concerns raised by Dr. Adams on the safety limits being violated and the status of discussions on the parent guarantee. He was dismissive on both fronts, stating that such issues are for the EPA to address. That regulatory body has not held an engagement with members of the media to address these specific matters.

OIL SPILL RISKS

Should an unmitigated oil spill occur at any of ExxonMobil’s four sanctioned projects, namely the Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two, Payara and Yellowtail in the Stabroek Block, Kaieteur News would have reported, that it could have far-reaching effects for Region One to Two.

For the Yellowtail project in particular, the EIA notes that there can be devastating implications for the marine life and ecosystems of nations such as Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.

Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited said it identified 16 spill scenarios, including spills of different types of hydrocarbons (e.g., crude oil, marine diesel, fuel oil, lubricating oil), with several being applicable for spills at the shorebases and on vessels in the Demerara River estuary (e.g., from a supply vessel) or in the Atlantic Ocean (e.g., from a well, drillship, supply vessel, tanker, FPSO).

But the largest of these scenarios considered a loss-of-well-control incident at the seafloor. In such a scenario, EEPGL said there is a 5 to 40 percent chance of the oil contacting the coast in Region One, and a 5 to 10 percent probability of the oil reaching Region Two. Expounding in this regard, EEPGL said, “If oil were to reach the Guyana shoreline, those resources most at risk would include protected areas (i.e., Shell Beach), coastal habitats (especially mangroves and marshes), and coastal wildlife (especially birds), as well as coastal communities and indigenous peoples dependent on fishing in the ocean and other ecosystem services.”

EEPGL further noted that based on the oil spill models it considered, there is the potential for an unmitigated oil spill to reach three main geographic regions: Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and the so called “ABC Islands” (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao). Other countries that could be affected include: Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and Grenada.

Due to its location at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles, EEPGL was keen to note that Trinidad and Tobago has the highest probability of any of the Antillean islands of shoreline oiling as a result of a loss-of-well-control event. The probability of oiling at least a portion of the coast of Trinidad and Tobago and/or its coastal waters is approximately 10 to 100 percent, the oil company said.

Despite the foregoing risks, EEPGL was keen to note that it is taking every possible measure to ensure that its operations are safe.

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