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New oil spill law to override any guarantee Exxon has with Guyana – Jagdeo
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – The passage of the country’s new oil spill legislation will override any guarantee or agreement ExxonMobil Guyana has relative to oil spills and the scope of coverage the company is liable for, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said on Thursday.
Jagdeo, during his Thursday, July 25, 2024 press conference held at Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown was asked his position on Exxon’s statement that the US$2B oil spill guarantee can cater to impacts affecting Guyana, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.
In response, he said, “It might be more than adequate but in any case that will be a moot issue once the law (Oil Spill Legislation) is passed because the law will override any guarantee or any agreement.”
The Chief Policy maker in the oil sector said that whatever exists currently will become “redundant”.
“It is a question that will all become redundant, as soon as we pass the law that we are working on because the law would obligate Exxon and not just Exxon but any…including the shipping companies to take care of all the liabilities associated with any spill, the cost of clean up as well as the economic damages done,” Jagdeo said.
The Vice President opted not to speculate on the subject of an oil spill but reminded that ExxonMobil recently commissioned the country’s first capping stack.
A capping stack is a heavy piece of metal equipment that is placed over a blown out well. It acts as a plug, thereby preventing further flow of hydrocarbons.
“…If it’s deployed immediately and you have 50 barrels of oil spilled, they have insurance…they have the $2B parent guarantee and you have the assets of the company to recoup.”
It was recently reported that the Projects Environmental and Regulatory Manager for ExxonMobil Guyana, Maria Skocik has assured that should there be an oil spill Guyana, Trinidad and Venezuela can be adequately compensated from the US$2B oil spill guarantee.
Skocik was asked to speak on the economic impacts a potential oil spill will have on Guyana and the Caribbean region, and whether the insurance in place will fully cover Guyana, as well as compensate the other countries affected.
“First and foremost, we are committed to safe operations, both personnel safety and environment, so as Becky was mentioning, we are doing everything possible to ensure that no incidents happen. In the off chance they do occur, we have technical and financial capacity to be able to respond to those incidents,” the Exxon official said.
She explained that there are measures in place like insurances and there will be mechanisms activated to facilitate cleanup.
“So there are things like insurances in place, there will be mechanisms for cleanup and for grievances and for business to submit claims. But again that being said in the way we design projects and the way we operate them is we do everything possible to prevent incidents from happening,” she stated.
To get clarity, this publication asked, “So you are saying if an incident occurs, Guyana will get full coverage and also the affected countries like Trinidad or Venezuela?”
In response Skocik said, “Yes, it absolutely does. So again, in an off chance an incident does happen, there will be a process for complete mitigation and mitigation of the area so there will be efforts to clean everything up and also support financially for parties that are impacted.”
The oil company often touts its capacity to take care of an oil spill in the event such a disaster occurs in the 26,800 square kilometers Stabroek Block. The company, whenever faced with questions about the cost of an oil spill, previously assured that it will not walk away from the country but will handle associated cleanup and compensation.
However, the assurances provided have been cast aside with the US$2B oil spill Guarantee and Indemnity Agreement superseding all oral statements and prior writings.
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