Oil production at 30% above safety design, irresponsible — Tony Vieira

May 20, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – The attitude of the People’s Progressive Party administration to agree with Exxon to “drill baby, drill” even to the extent that they are seeking to extract 30 percent more than the safety design of these wells, smacks of an irresponsibility on an astronomical scale.

Moreseo, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo—clearly does not care what the dangers are and this is completely unacceptable. This is the view of geologist and former government advisor, Anthony Vieira, who in a recent public missive drew reference to an international report in supporting his position, namely, an article published by the international news agency, the Guardian, titled ExxonMobil’s huge Guyana project faces charges of a disregard for safety from experts who claim the company has failed to adequately prepare for possible disaster.”

According to Vieira the concerns raised should cause Guyanese to sit up and take notice, especially in light of the dismal track record of the Vice President with regards large projects in Guyana; “Jagdeo does not have a track record of success, in fact he clearly has a track record of disasters.”

Referencing the international publication, Vieira outlined the concerns raised in the article which said: “By 2025, the company expects to produce 800,000 barrels of oil a day, surpassing estimates for its entire oil and natural gas production in the south-western US Permian basin by 100,000 barrels that year. Guyana would then represent Exxon’s largest single source of fossil fuel production anywhere in the world.”

It notes too experts claim that Exxon in Guyana appears to be taking advantage of an unprepared government in one of the lowest-income nations in South America, allowing the company to skirt necessary oversight.

“Worse, they also believe the company’s safety plans are inadequate and dangerous. A top engineer, who studied oil industry disasters, as well as a former government regulator, have leveled criticisms at Exxon. They say workers’ lives, public health and Guyana’s oceans and fisheries – which locals rely on heavily– are all at stake.”

Vieira also drew reference to “The local news, especially Kaieteur News, has been warning us almost daily that not only do world authorities inform us that we made a bad deal in the Stabroek Block, but that exploring in 18,000 feet deep oil wells [like we have here] is fraught with extreme danger. World opinion is also screaming at us not to trust Exxon. We have landed, fortuitously, into the biggest oil find in this hemisphere in a very long time.”

According to Vieira, the world press expresses it this way, “It shows the relative size of the discoveries in Guyana and is by far the largest oil discoveries made in this part of the world,” so suddenly this country was elevated from nothing, to being very, very important and very much in the driver’s seat.”
Adamant, “Exxon needs us more than we need Exxon,” Veira was adamant “we will not benefit from this windfall unless we put the right people in charge of it.”

He described the situation as “Guyana’s government, working with Exxon, is like a bottom house bat and ball team trying to play the West Indian Test cricket team!”

Speaking the Vice President’s track record, Vieira, recalled that under the Presidency of Bharrat Jagdeo, this country experienced nothing but economic disasters and pointed to the GuySuCo’s Skeldon US$200 million expansion.

He said too that, the economic repercussion to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) in the CLICO fiasco involving the loss of over five billion dollars to the Guyanese tax payers also serves as testament to Jagdeo’s track record.

“To add to this list, I also hold the view that seeking to build a hydro power station at Amaila Falls, a Jagdeo pet project, just like Skeldon, was a huge drain on our national resources, producing nothing. It is therefore unnecessary for me to elaborate further in the matter of Jagdeo’s competence. The abundance of evidence to that fact is there, and clear for all to see.”

With this in mind, Vieira was firm in his conviction, “the situation we find ourselves in today scares me, as since around 2019, numerous international publications have been warning us of the dangers that Exxon is posing to our coast and countries to the north and west of Guyana.”

To this end he recalled “everyone, including our own Dr. Vincent Adams, who was removed from the EPA as soon as the PPP took office in 2000; Completely incompetent people were put in charge of the Natural Resources Ministry and the EPA” and suggests “One can easily conclude that these actions were taken to allow Exxon to do what they want in this country.”

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• CLICO fiasco, ExxonMobil, GuySuCo’s Skeldon, oil production, Stabroek Block, Tony Vieira

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