‘No guarantee Exxon will have 7th project’

Jul 26, 2024 News

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…VP Jagdeo says Government to decide whether project sum will be added to cost bank

Kaieteur News – There is no guarantee that ExxonMobil will be allowed to go ahead with its seventh project Hammerhead. At least this much was gleaned from statements made by the Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly press conference on Thursday at Freedom House on Robb Street.

Jagdeo was asked by this publication, “In relation to produced water from Hammerhead Exxon’s 7^th project that is supposed to start up in 2029, the opposition seems to be on two different ends of the spectrum with how the company should be dealing with produced water. We have the PNC, they are all for reinjection, while the AFC is all for treatment. The company is yet to decide how they will handle this. Can you say what is government’s position on how Exxon should handle produced water from this project?”

The VP stated, “So first of all, there is an assumption that there will be a seventh project. So we will get the application soon and at that time, the government will determine through two permits, one the licence and then the environmental permit, how it will deal with all of these issues.”

He boasted that the administration has made the permits for previous projects public unlike the previous administration and they will be dealing with any issues as they arise. Jagdeo added: “Exxon still has to demonstrate that they will submit all the documents needed for us to assess whether the requirements are met. On the seventh project, we are yet to determine whether we want that on the cost bank now ahead of any clarity of how we are moving with the monetization of the Gas Project. So those issues will be determined next week.”

ExxonMobil has commenced public consultations for the seventh project Hammerhead. It was at the first meeting on Monday that it was disclosed by Global Projects Cost Engineering Manager for Exxon Guyana Rebecca Cvikota that the company is yet to decide what specific methods would be used to address the produced water from this project, but they were already presenting plans to the public on how they plan to go about production and what the capacity of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) will be.

Produced water is a liquid that is extracted during oil production activities. It contains dissolved mineral salts, or may be mixed with organic compounds such as acids, waxes, and mineral oils. It may also be mixed with inorganic metals and byproducts or with trace amounts of heavy metals and naturally-occurring radioactive materials, the US Department of Energy said in a research paper. It is also usually very high in temperature, and can be deadly to marine organisms.

Due to its toxicity, this substance is best re-injected into the wells, though this may be a costly exercise. Exxon has sounded the warning before, in six EIAs for its previously sanctioned projects, of the dangers associated with the dumping of produced water into the ocean. Produced water discharges from each of the projects vary. For instance, the sixth project – Whiptail – which will produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) will also produce 200,000 barrels of produced water daily which will be dumped into the ocean.

The Exxon official was asked by this publication if the company had plans to reinject the produced water from the project and if not, can she say the effect it can have on rising sea levels if not reinjected. She said that, “Produced water has been a topic we have been heavily involved in working very closely with the EPA and MNR to do studies on and assess and look at. So, for Hammerhead, we are still in the early phases, I wouldn’t commit to any specific ways in which we are going to handle the produced water. What I will say now is the studies we are doing are informing those types of decisions and it is international practice to discharge produced water offshore.”

Cvikota explained that the water is treated and they will not be discharging any water unless it meets the requirement of the environmental permit and is treated sufficiently. “That is part of our practices that’s one of the things that we are monitoring very closely to ensure that we have safe operations,” she added.

Exxon’s admission

ExxonMobil has acknowledged that discharges from the seventh project can potentially affect the quality of water and harm marine species and wildlife. This information is contained in the Project Summary submitted by Exxon to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the Project Summary seen by this newspaper, “The Project could have localised impacts to marine water quality in the project development area from discharge of drill cuttings and from routine operational and hydro-testing discharges. The Project could potentially impact marine water quality in the Project area of interest (AOI) as a result of non-routine, unplanned events (e.g., spill or release).”

Drill cuttings and drill fluid discharges during the drilling of development wells; effluent discharges from cooling water and produced water; hydro-testing discharges and non-routine, unplanned events such as a spill can result in the release of dangerous substances that can affect marine life. Exxon said, “Increased total suspended solids concentrations, chemical concentrations, or temperature in water column has a potential to affect marine water quality and marine habitat quality and affect wildlife.”

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• 7th project, Exxon, Hammerhead, Jagdeo, produced water

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