Environmental Protection extends activities to oil and gas industry

Sep 22, 2024 Consumer Concerns, Features / Columnists, News

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CONSUMER CONCERNS

PAT  DIAL

Kaieteur News – Consumers have often been alarmed by persons in the media predicting disasters which will befall Guyana and Guyanese people if there is an Oil Spill and by the claim that no Environmental Regulations are being imposed on the Industry resulting in damage being done to the Environment.  These ‘defenders of the Environment’ claim that the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is merely engaged in routine work.

The Environment consists of the Air, Land and Water of the Planet.  In more detailed terms this will be  the Atmosphere which envelopes the Planet and which consists of  layers of various life-sustaining gases  such as hydrogen, oxygen and most importantly, the Ozone Layer which absorbs the Sun’s Ultraviolet Rays which would be fatal to all human and animal life if exposed to it.  Next, there is the Hydrosphere which is the total water on the Planet which consists of the Oceans, polar ice caps, rivers, lakes, ground water and clouds.  The Oceans form 97% of the Planet’s water with only 3% fresh water with 1% polluted leaving only 2% for human and animal use and this fact underscores the importance of using fresh water economically.  Then there is the Lithosphere which consists of earth such as mountains and plains and the minerals within the earth.  On the earth is the Biosphere which consists of all living things such as plant and animal and human life including other things like corals. All Life uses all three spheres.

These spheres interact with each other and human and other life interacts with them.  Environmental Studies and Ecology try to regulate human activity from harming these spheres which could result in permanent harm affecting future generations.  Thus, for example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has had to regulate the construction of main roads, the Berbice and Demerara River Bridges and the construction of sizable buildings like various international hotels.  In rare cases the EPA may have to balance the requirements of Development with those of Ecology.  One of the main activities of the EPA is the struggle against Climate Change where the EPA has to limit or eliminate the effusion of Carbon Dioxide into the Atmosphere.   This activity is multi-dimensional and involves protection of the Forests, the elimination of the use of fossil fuels and the exploration of the production and use of clean fuels such as hydropower.  It is therefore quite clear that the EPA’s work in the non-Oil sector is substantial.

The EPA’s work in the Oil Sector is far less known but it is important.  We first mention the Oil Cats which could seal wells in the event of a spill.  Most producers rent such equipment when it is needed; Guyana has decided to invest several million US dollars in acquiring Cats to ensure that in the event of an Oil Spill, immediate action could be taken.  The EPA, in licensing the producer, necessitates the presence of a Capping Stack – a subsea mechanical barrier designed to effectively shut in and redirect uncontrolled flow.  Further, for the Stabroek Block operator ExxonMobil and its partners have made a $2 billion oil spill guarantee.

Oil leaks could be detected by the use of independent satellite monitoring which would immediately detect any sheen in the ocean.  On the Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, discharges which may be of environmental concern are monitored by the Monitoring, Recording, and Verification System (MRVS).  This System has the added spinoff of monitoring the quantum of Oil being extracted by ExxonMobil.

Flaring is one of the environmental hazards of Oil production.  Flaring is the controlled burning of natural gas which prevents buildups that could lead to explosions.  Flaring is a safety measure but it is not an ideal solution.  The producers are permitted an amount of flaring which is considered environmentally acceptable but beyond this they have to pay a fine of US$50 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent for flaring on their FPSO’s.

Although the existing systems effectively monitor off-shore activities, e.g. on the FPSO’s, there is room for strengthening capabilities.  Vice President and General Secretary of the PPP Bharrat Jagdeo who is the country’s front man in relating to the Oil Industry, recently remarked “We need to continue building capacity at the EPA and in Government itself, independent capacity, and with government itself to do greater monitoring”.

Accordingly, there is at present fairly adequate environmental protection vis-a-vis the Oil Industry but the EPA is working towards perfection.  The consumer community and the general public, therefore, need not be alarmed.

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• Bharrat Jagdeo, climate change, EPA, Forests, PPP

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