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Guyana to depend on Exxon for training to use data sharing equipment
Kaieteur News – Despite the glaring discrepancies and denial of access of pertinent information with regards to the oil fields being developed in the Stabroek Block, the Government of Guyana has opted to continue to rely on ExxonMobil for data.
Under the latest production licence issued for the development of an oilfield in the Stabroek Block, it enshrines that the licence holder shall ensure that the Minister be afforded access thereto, including by reference to a commercially reasonable level of system uptime.
This includes, having ExxonMobil providing necessary technical support and training on the use of such facilities and responding to related inquiries in a timely manner and with all reasonable speed.
According to the licence issued the facilities shall contain and make available at all times all submissions, proposals, data, documents, reports and forecasts submitted by the licence Holder: (a) from the date of the Application; (b) during the course of the review of the accompanying Field Development Plan; and (c) subsequent to licence grant, all approved amendments, adjustments or updates. The facility shall include functionality that tracks any changes and their timing and provenance.”
Only recently this publication had cause to flag instances where pertinent information critical to the Stabroek Block Operations were being kept from the country. One such example, reported on the team of local and international auditors who collaborated on reviewing ExxonMobil’s expenses totalling US$7.3B for the period 2018 to 2020 reporting to the Guyana Government that they were not provided with all the data and information they requested from the company.
Specifically, the team said in a report seen by this newspaper that Exxon was asked to provide a schematic diagram showing all metering points on the Liza Destiny Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. The auditors said a schematic would provide a visual representation of the physical flow of production as it is produced onto the FPSO through the various types of production equipment, and into the storage tanks.
Auditors said ExxonMobil was adamant that it would not provide the raw data or the schematic on the amount of oil and gas it produced. Auditors said Exxon “consistently stated that production information was outside the scope of the cost recovery audit.” Furthermore, Exxon told the auditors that only sales information would be provided. Notably, ExxonMobil also refused to provide the raw production data to the audit team. This information is used to create the monthly production data it provides to the Government. ExxonMobil reportedly told the auditors consistently that “production information was outside the scope of the cost recovery audit.” The report done by Haynes and team recommended: “For future audits, a schematic would assist in validating the volumetric data provided in the monthly statements submitted to the Government of Guyana”.
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