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Civil Society Group writes T&T PM about oil spill dangers from Guyana ahead of Energy Conference
…draws attention to Guyana Govt. allowing oil companies to breach full liability requirement
Kaieteur News – Members of a civil society group have written to Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister (PM), Dr. Keith Rowley, putting him on guard about the potential oil spill dangers of Guyana’s offshore projects.
The letter which was signed by Alfred Bhulai, Andre Brandli, Janette Bulkan, Darshanand Khusial, Mike Persaud, and Charles Sugrim—all of whom are members of the Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN)—was issued on February 8, 2023 to the PM’s office.
The OGGN members were keen to note that they are concerned citizens of Guyana and inhabitants of the Caribbean. They stressed that Guyana’s oil reserves, totalling some 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources in the Stabroek Block, underpin grave oil spill concerns for Caribbean citizens.
What is also troubling for them is that ExxonMobil Corporation, through its subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), currently plans to drill 158 wells in six oil fields by 2030 in the southeast corner of the Stabroek tract alone.
They also referenced commentary from Robert Bea who is regarded as one of the world’s foremost forensic engineers and a leading expert on the 2010 BP Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bae, they said, worries that Exxon’s operations appear to lack the appropriate preparation or planning to head off a deepwater blowout and major oil spill. “I am far from comfortable,” Bea, Co-director of the Marine Technology and Management Group Center for Risk Mitigation, had said.
T&T’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley
OGGN members also reminded that the infamous Macondo oil spill which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico and killed 11 persons is estimated to have cost US$145 billion. In spite of the ugly mark this incident, along with many others have left on the industry, they expressed alarm that Guyanese authorities are still pussyfooting on securing full liability coverage for a major oil spill from Exxon.
They noted that the environmental permits for the Stabroek tract require Exxon’s acceptance of full liability coverage. However, Exxon’s Guyana subsidiary (EEPGL) is not complying with same. They said too that the Government of Guyana is allowing this illegality, thereby putting Caribbean countries at risk.
“Prime Minister, we enclose the map prepared by ERM, the consultancy firm that has conducted all but one of Exxon’s Environmental Impact Assessments to date in Guyana. That map shows that the northwesterly currents of the Guyana territorial sea would push even a small oil spill to the eastern coasts of Trinidad and Tobago. Even a small oil spill would bespoil the Caribbean Sea and threaten the livelihoods of fishers and the tourism industry, not to mention the harms to marine life and ecosystems,” the OGGN members wrote.
They added, “We draw to your attention the limited capacity in the Guyanese regulatory bodies to exercise oversight of the offshore oil industry, which imperils the entire Caribbean.”
They also informed the CARICOM leader that the accompanying breakneck pace of 4D seismic surveys and the velocity of the current and projected oil drilling and pumping are greater than any other exploration and/or extraction that have occurred hitherto globally for offshore oil extraction. They also raised an alarm that Exxon intends to continue seismic survey throughout the expected 20-years lifespan of the oil fields.
In light of the foregoing and other critical points, they urged PM Rowley urge the governments of the Caribbean to evaluate the scale, intensity and risks posed to the entire Caribbean by the ongoing high velocity oil exploration and production in Guyana’s waters. “We hope you will assess the deeply inequitable and neo-colonial arrangements between the government of Guyana and petroleum companies, in which the public wealth of Guyana is privatized and negative environmental harms to both Guyana and the Caribbean are socialized,” the members wrote.
The group which advocates for environmental protection and financial norms also expressed hope that the PM would shed light on their concerns during his planned address to the International Energy Conference & Expo in Guyana on February 14.
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