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“We know how to do it safely, reliably and responsibly”
– ExxonMobil Upstream President tells critics of gas pipeline
Kaieteur News – President of ExxonMobil’s Upstream Company, Liam Mallon yesterday addressed critics of the gas pipeline being built in Guyana to support the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project.
President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, Liam Mallon
He was delivering remarks at the third annual Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo being hosted at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, under the theme “Fuelling Transformation and Modernization.”
Mallon said, “I’ve heard critics here talked about the risks of the gas to energy pipeline. I’ll remind you that 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of our company’s, that first long distance running pipeline. We’ve been doing this for a century. We know how to do it. We know how to do it safely, reliably and responsibly.”
ExxonMobil is currently constructing a 12-inch pipeline that connects to the Liza One and Liza Two fields in the Stabroek Block to the Wales development site where the government of Guyana is developing a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility and a 300-megawatt power plant.
Mallon talked up the company’s commitment to environmental protection, urging that Exxon can produce the energy and products critical to modern life and at the same time, make a meaningful contribution to reducing emissions. He lauded Guyana for what he described as “world leadership” for sharing the commitment to environmental protection and commitment to safe operations.
It must be noted that while the Upstream Company President boasted of safety and reliability of Exxon’s operations, a quick internet search showed that the global energy giant has been slapped with multiple lawsuits for pipeline explosions during its decade-old operations.
Energy Intelligence reported in November 2001 that Exxon was fined $225,000 for a pipeline blast that killed one person, injured two others, and damaged property. In 2015, Pipeline and Gas Journal reported that the California agency that investigates workplace accidents has cited and fined ExxonMobil more than $560,000 for workplace safety and health violations following a probe into a February explosion at a Los Angeles-area refinery.
Meanwhile, Reuters in a June 2019 report said Exxon Mobil Corp has agreed to pay a $1 million civil penalty to settle U.S. charges involving a 2011 pipeline rupture that spilled oil into the Yellowstone River in Montana.
Flooding was blamed for an underwater breach that spread more than 1,500 barrels of oil along the waterway and caused the evacuation of about 140 people near Laurel, Montana. There are numerous other instances in which the company was slapped with legal action for incidents stemming from its oil and gas infrastructure. In Guyana, the company submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the gas pipeline where it signaled early on the damage that can be done by gas leaks.
Exxon’s Consultant, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), said in the study that gas leaks, and worse yet explosions are likely to occur as a result of corrosion, objects striking the pipeline, and a buildup of stress in the pipe wall, causing buckling. Even though this risk was identified, the Consultant did not see it fit to also attach a detailed response plan, accompanied by the various scenarios in which such an event can occur. The government had said that a Gas Leak Management Plan (GLMP) would be conducted prior to the startup of the facility, which is expected for year end, or early 2025.
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