Surveys in Demerara River approved by EPA for pipeline works – Exxon

Mar 01, 2023 News

---

Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil, through its operator Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) recently embarked on a series of surveys offshore Guyana, but even though these could disrupt fish habitats, there was no sighting of an Environmental Authorization by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The matter was flagged by environmental activist, Janette Bulkhan who urged government to address the situation urgently, given the potential dangers to fishermen’s livelihoods.

Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), commonly referred to as ExxonMobil Guyana, in an invited comment clarified on Tuesday that the surveys are being conducted for the natural gas pipeline that will be used to transport the resource onshore, from the Liza Fields in the Stabroek Block off the country’s coast. A Permit has already been granted to facilitate these activities.

ExxonMobil Guyana’s Media Advisor, Kwesi Isles explained, “The surveys, being conducted by EEPGL’s contractor, Van Oord as part of the Gas-to-Energy project, are covered by the approved Environmental Impact Assessment and the Environmental Authorisation EEPGL received via the EPA permit which was issued on Nov. 25, 2022. The permit is publicly available on the EPA website.”

In July 2022, ExxonMobil awarded a contract to Subsea 7 and Van Oord, two international companies, to assist in the pipeline project. The scope covers the project management, engineering, and installation of approximately 190 kilometres of pipeline, with an associated shallow water portion and onshore approach.

Meanwhile, the Permit issued to the operator states at Section 15 “The Permit Holder shall ensure that the pipeline and NGL (Natural Gas Liquids) Plant construction and installation are guided by geotechnical studies.”

The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) in a public notice published in the daily newspapers advised that on February 24, 2023, EEPGL will commence a geotechnical and geophysical survey in the vicinity of the Demerara Main Ship Channel and off the West Coast of Demerara in the vicinity of Plantation Best.

According to the notice, “The survey site is situated approximately 01.05 nautical miles (1.96 kilometers) off the Coast of Guyana, and covers an area of 70.08 square nautical miles (240.40 square kilometers.”  The exercise scheduled to wrap up on November 1, 2023. This notice did not indicate the purpose of the surveys.

Research done by this newspaper indicates that a geotechnical survey involves testing the physical properties of the soil, to provide recommendations for foundation requirements, excavation stability, drainage and buried concrete design.

It would be apposite to note that the survey process involves drilling several boreholes from which samples are collected and then taken for analysis.  A geophysical survey on the other hand involves measuring the physical properties of the seabed and determining the presence of any feature or change in a material composition.

In another notice, MARAD said EEPGL is conducting a ‘Multibeam Hydrographic Survey’ approximately 08.27 nautical miles (15.32 kilometers) off the Coast of Guyana. The site covers an area of 802.44 square nautical miles (2752.30 square kilometers).

The activities commenced on February 23, 2023 and are set to conclude on July 31, 2023.

A Multibeam survey is done to gather detailed information about the features on the seabed by measuring multiple depths from a single transducer array at high resolution. This process produces is a highly accurate 3D picture of the sea floor.

Bulkhan highlighted her concerns regarding the offshore works in a letter to this newspaper published on the February 28, 2023, since there was no notice from the EPA pertaining to the ongoing activities, even though they could have potentially impact the environment.

In her letter she said, “The Environmental Protection Agency has an obligation under the EP (Environmental Protection) Act 1996 to require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for such potential disturbance of the populations of fish on which our fishermen depend and which contribute greatly to the protein in the diet of coastlanders.”

According to the Environmental Protection Act, each project to be pursued that will affect the environment must be subjected to the approval of the EPA. An application must be made to the EPA, which then triggers the screening process, where officers of the regulatory body assess the likely impacts on the environment and human health.

The decision on whether an EIA is required is then published by the regulator which then activates a comments period in which the public can oppose this decision. There was however no such engagement or notices on the part of the EPA, since the activities are catered to in the Permit already granted.

---

• Demerara River, ENVIRONMENT, fishermen, pipeline, survey

---