Exxon must provide daily drill data, ROV images

Dec 09, 2025 News

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…as EPA tightens offshore oversight

(Kaieteur News) – Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Khemraj Parsram, on Sunday confirmed that US oil giant ExxonMobil is now required to submit daily, detailed reports for every well it drills offshore Guyana.

The new reporting requirements, he said, form part of the agency’s push to tighten oversight and increase transparency in offshore operations. A key addition to the updated permit is the use of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) imagery. Exxon must now provide visual confirmation before and after drilling that wells are unobstructed, properly drilled, and safely capped.

This creates a verifiable record of the condition of the seafloor and each well site. Parsram made the comments during an appearance on the Starting Point online programme. He noted that the EPA has been progressively upgrading permit conditions over the years, making full use of available technology. “Now we’re leveraging technology… We have that partnership with MAXAR where we can detect spills, monitor their extent, and receive alerts in real time,” he explained.

In February 2023, this publication reported that the Government of Guyana, through the EPA, entered a US$550,000 three-year agreement with MAXAR Technologies to enhance monitoring of offshore oil operations and even forest activities onshore. MAXAR, based in Colorado, USA, specialises in earth-observation and satellite services. Parsram stressed that well drilling remains one of the highest-risk activities in offshore production. For that reason, the EPA wants to see exactly what is happening on the seafloor at each stage of the process. “ROVs will be there taking static pictures. That’s what is available now, but the intention is to eventually have live video, and once the technology is in place and accessible, it will be written into the permit,” he said. Real-time surveillance, he added, will allow the EPA to review events leading up to any incident, determine whether negligence played a role, and strengthen accountability. The next step, he emphasised, is to secure continuous live monitoring of the drilling process.

Only recently, this newspaper reported that the Government of Guyana has moved to impose stricter oversight on ExxonMobil’s oil operations, demanding that the U.S. oil giant submit quarterly reports on reserves for its seventh offshore development, the Hammerhead Project.

This mechanism would play a key role in monitoring the depletion of the resources and aid in strategic planning for future development. According to the Production Licence (PL) granted back in October, Exxon is now obligated to provide detailed updates on the depletion of Guyana’s oil and gas resources, ensuring closer monitoring of how the country’s non-renewable wealth is being extracted. The licence spells out: “The Licence Holder shall submit quarterly resource and reserve reports to the Minister in respect of the Hammerhead Project in such form and manner as the Minister may direct from time to time.” These reports must cover all saleable petroleum products—oil, gas, and natural gas liquids—produced at Hammerhead and must align with international standards set by the Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS).

In addition, Exxon must cooperate fully for any reserve audits, granting access to petroleum data as required to any person or government agency duly authorised by the minister, the Petroleum Licence states.  Three years after Hammerhead’s first oil, the company will also be required to procure an independent third-party consultant to conduct a reserve and resource assessment.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil will also be required to submit annual data for the reservoirs, commencing 90 days from the issue of the Hammerhead Licence. These models (current static and dynamic field) shall incorporate new data, as appropriate, inclusive of exploration, appraisal, development and production activities conducted in the previous year.  The Hammerhead development is located in the south-western portion of the Stabroek Block. Notably, a total of 445 million barrels of oil is forecast to be produced with an estimated daily production capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). Hammerhead oil production will be facilitated through 10 production wells and 8 injection wells, commencing in 2029. The project is expected to boost Guyana’s overall production capacity at approximately 1.5 million bpd. Additionally, associated gas produced from Hammerhead will be transferred to the Gas-to-Energy (GtE) pipeline network.

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• Data, drill, EPA, Exxon, Khemraj Parsram

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