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United Airlines to fly 4-times weekly between Houston and Georgetown
United Airlines
As Guyana accelerates oil activities…
Kaieteur News – As ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) intensifies its offshore oil production in the Stabroek Block, United Airlines (UA) is set to launch a new four-time weekly service connecting Houston, Texas, United States, and Georgetown, Guyana. This service is anticipated to commence in April 2024, coinciding with the heightened oil activities in the region.
The announcement was made on Monday, by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, during his 2024 budget estimates presentation in the National Assembly.
He said that this new service will provide yet another route into the United States (U.S.) with improved connectivity to third cities in the U.S. and beyond, and will ease the pressure and increase availability on existing Miami and New York services.
It’s worth noting that EMGL’s parent company, the U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil, is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Guyana’s third FPSO, Prosperity
The announcement aligns with Exxon’s recent initiation of oil production at its third development, Payara. The Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, Prosperity, achieved first oil on November 14, 2023.
Initial production figures indicate a notable increase from approximately 24,000 barrels on the first day to 101,000 barrels by November 28, 2023. Payara is projected to reach a daily production rate of 220,000 barrels in the first quarter of 2024, adding to a total daily production rate of 600,000 barrels for Guyana.
As the oil company ramps up production, concerns arise as Exxon’s ongoing oil production at the Liza One and Liza Two projects in the Stabroek Block exceeds the prescribed safe operating limits outlined in the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). The EIAs for these projects specified safe operating limits of 120,000 and 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) respectively. This has prompted anxieties among the Guyanese populace, as the company fights against offering full liability coverage in the event of an oil spill.
Notably, ExxonMobil officials have also disclosed plans to surpass the designed capacity at the Payara project, raising further questions about the environmental implications and the company’s risk management measures
Moreover, Minister Singh during his presentation said that the tourism sector has a lot of untapped potential, which has faced challenges due to constraints such as limited airlift options.
“Finally, those constraints are being overcome, and the sector is poised for a dramatic takeoff. It is expected that 2024 will be a historic year in relation to developments in the tourism sector,” the minister said.
Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh
Dr. Singh highlighted that in 2023, Guyana welcomed 319,056 visitors, a 10.7% increase compared to 2022.
He said, “In order to ensure the expansion of airline routes and seat volumes, our Government has maintained efforts to improve connectivity between Guyana and the rest of the world with new services and routes.”
In addition to UA introducing its service to Guyana this year, in June 2024, American Airlines (AA) will expand its services with an additional daily flight between Miami and Georgetown, increasing capacity and providing additional options to travellers – the minister said.
Dr. Singh underscored that the new services by UA and AA will add 137,268 new seats to the market in 2024, which will make a significant impact on seat availability, pricing, and commuter options and convenience.
In March 2023, British Airways introduced a twice weekly service from London via St Lucia. The minister said that this has dramatically improved connectivity with destinations in the Caribbean and Europe.
In September 2023, Canada Jetlines in collaboration with Fly Allways improved access to the Canadian market by introducing a twice weekly service to Toronto via the Dominican Republic. Also, Suriname Airways introduced, in December 2023, a Bridgetown-Georgetown-Paramaribo service, thereby improving connectivity with Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean.
Minister Singh said that the new services, as well as additional flights put on by current carriers, together added 150,234 seats or 14% more than in 2022.
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