Govt. moving to review Exxon’s 7th project – despite VP Jagdeo saying no guarantee it would be approved

Oct 09, 2024 News

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“Govt. moving to review Exxon’s 7th project despite VP Jagdeo saying no guarantee it would be approved. Some areas of focus for the project include a detailed assessment of the Hammerhead concept selection process and FDP”

 

 

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Government have taken steps to review and evaluate ExxonMobil Guyana Limited Field Development Plan for its seventh project despite Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo back in July said there was no guarantee that it would be approved.

The Government of Guyana (GOG) is set to use a portion of a US$20 million loan from the World Bank to pay for consulting services to review the FDP for the seventh project in the Stabroek Block (Hammerhead). Eligible consulting firms can respond to the Ministry of Natural Resources, Expression of Interest (EOI) which was published on Monday. Interested consultants must have relevant experience in similar assignments, particularly in deepwater development projects and addressing climate change impacts in the oil and gas sector. The firm should also be internationally recognized and possess the expertise to provide professional opinions related to field development planning.

This project forms part of the Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project (GPRGMP). The selected firm will provide advisory services, technical support, and training to enhance the government’s capacity to review, oversee and authorize the implementation of FDPs.

Some areas of focus for the project include a detailed assessment of the Hammerhead concept selection process and FDP, management, oversight, monitoring, and reporting of the FDP, evaluation of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) related to the proposed Hammerhead FDP, and training and institutional capacity building.

The estimated duration of this consultancy assignment is 20 weeks, commencing in November 2024. The consulting firm will be expected to be physically present in Guyana for an agreed period during this time.

EOIs must be submitted by October 22, 2024, and can be delivered in person, by mail, fax, or email to the ministry. For inquiries, interested parties can contact Mr. J. McKenzie, Permanent Secretary. The contact number is (592)-231-2510, and the email is [email protected].

A few months ago, EMGL, the operator of Guyana’s resource-rich Stabroek Block made its application to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking approval for a seventh project, Hammerhead. Hammerhead was announced as Exxon’s ninth commercial discovery in August 2018. The Hammerhead-1 well was drilled in a new reservoir, encountering approximately 197 feet (60 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. The well was safely drilled to 13,862 feet (4,225 meters) depth in 3,773 feet (1,150 meters) of water. The project will target between 120-180 thousand barrels per day (kbd). Exxon is aiming to commence production activities by 2029, following the requisite approvals.

Notably, the daily production capacity being targeted is significantly lower compared to the last three projects sanctioned, which each target over 200 kbd. Hammerhead-1 is located approximately 13 miles (21 kilometers) southwest of the Liza-1 well and follows previous discoveries on the Stabroek Block at Liza, Liza Deep, Payara, Snoek, Turbot, Ranger, Pacora and Longtail. Back in April, Exxon received green-light from the EPA as well as blessings from the Government of Guyana (GoG) to develop a sixth deep water project, Whiptail.

Jagdeo said no guarantee 7^th project will be approved

Meanwhile, back in July at one of his news conference Jagdeo had said there was no guarantee that ExxonMobil will be allowed to go ahead with its seventh project Hammerhead. 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 when he made the comments. “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.” The in August again Jagdeo was asked whether the seventh project would be approved he said thusly:” When and if…if and or when and if we approve the project then you will be told about what the benefits will be. We have not looked at anything…there is currently no application in for the seventh project as yet, so when the application comes in that’s when we will start considering this matter.”

Govt. moving to review Exxon’s 7th project – despite VP Jagdeo saying no guarantee it would be approved

 

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• FDP, Liza Deep, management, Pacora, Payara, Ranger, Snoek, Stabroek Block, Stabroek Block at Liza, Turbot, Vice President Bharrat

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