New 35 well drilling campaign in Stabroek Block can overburden dumpsites – Exxon study

Mar 07, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil through its subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has submitted a Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a new 35 well drilling campaign it intends to start up during the third quarter of this year.

The document, according a notice in the daily newspapers, was uploaded to the EPA’s website, triggering a 60-day public comments period, commencing March 5, 2023.

The CIA was prepared for Exxon by its Consultant, Environmental Resources Management (ERM). Among the warnings contained in the 2,054 paged document is the project’s potential to overburden Guyana’s dumpsites with waste from the offshore drilling operations.

Of 15 Valued Environmental and Social Components (VECs), the study identified Waste Management Infrastructure and Capacity (Landfills) as the only receptor with a high priority rating.

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on page 7 states, “It is foreseeable that cumulative impacts associated with this industry (and the supporting industries), in combination with other planned projects and economic activities in Guyana, have the potential to overburden the capacity of the current infrastructure in Guyana and/or the resiliency of environmental and social receptors.”

This may have cascading effects on the VECs identified in the study such as air quality and climate and those that may have been screened out the CIA explains.

To this end it was recommended that a multi-stakeholder collaborative organization be formed with EPA oversight and the participation and support of EEPGL as well as the other oil and gas operators and associated supporting industries and other industries where there may be cumulative impacts.

“The focus of this organization should be to raise awareness of and develop strategies to manage and monitor the likely cumulative impacts of oil and gas and other induced economic activities in Guyana,” the Consultant noted.

According to the study, the cumulative projected peak waste generation is approximately 940 tonnes per month inclusive of non-hazardous and hazardous substances.

“Conservatively assuming all the non-hazardous waste and all the treated hazardous waste (assuming no reduction in mass during treatment) is ultimately disposed of in a non-hazardous landfill, this represents approximately 6.2 percent of the total current demand on Georgetown-based landfill facilities (on the order of 15,000 tonnes per month),” the document explains.

It added that when the opening of Cell Two is considered at the Haags Bosch Landfill, and the limited percent contribution of the Project, this represents a relatively low level of impact on non-hazardous waste management infrastructure and capacity for the longer-term (up to 10 years).

However, “New landfill development in the region may be appropriate for consideration going forward.”

In the absence of other oil and gas or industrial operations exerting a significant increase in demand on Georgetown-based hazardous waste treatment facilities, the cumulative projected peak hazardous waste generation of approximately 500 tonnes per month represent a significant portion of the total demand for Georgetown-based hazardous waste treatment facilities.

The Consultant explained that with the recent and ongoing expansion of hazardous waste management infrastructure and capacity in Georgetown, this waste generation rate is not expected to overburden the treatment capacity.

About the drilling campaign

EEPGL has proposed to conduct further exploration/appraisal drilling in the Stabroek Block for an additional 35 wells. The exact locations of the 35 wells comprising the Project have not been finalized. The operator said that while some of the 35 wells will be drilled for exploration purposes, it is also possible that some of the wells may be drilled as appraisal wells within the proximity of previously drilled exploration areas. Appraisal wells are drilled to better define the physical attributes of petroleum resources that have been discovered through prior exploration activities.

If discoveries are found at particular locations, subsequent wells could be drilled in the same area to further assess the potential commerciality of the discoveries. “Priorities and schedules could, therefore, change,” the oil company states in the CIA. EEPGL noted that it will continue to submit the well information necessary to obtain approval for an operations permit from the EPA before the respective spud dates.

Pending approval, it is anticipated that the Project will begin in the third quarter of 2023, and if discoveries are made, well test(s) may be performed. The conclusion of the proposed drilling campaign is expected by the fourth quarter of 2028.

The project is located in a deep water, offshore marine environment whose physical, chemical, and geological characteristics are consistent with oceanographic conditions in the region as a whole.

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• Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Environmental Resources Management (ERM), ExxonMobil, Waste Management Infrastructure and Capacity

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