Country Manager of Exxon Mobil Corporation, Jeff Simons today reaffirmed that the company will not start the actual extraction of oil from its huge offshore well for another five years.
Late last month, the company announced that drilling results from the Liza-2 well, the second exploration well in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana, confirmed a world-class find with a recoverable deposit of between 800 million and 1.4 billion oil-equivalent barrels.
The Liza wells are located in the Stabroek block approximately 120 miles (193 kilometres) offshore Guyana. Data from the successful Liza-2 well test is being evaluated.
Speaking before the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, Simons stated that “… five years is a good estimate.”
Most of the members of the committee were interested in the timeframe within which the country can actually start exporting oil, the extent of the company’s corporate contribution and whether Guyanese are employed by the company.
While Simons indicated that the company has made contributions to some charitable organisations in Guyana, he did not give a figure and he pointed out that at present the services required by the company are from highly technical individuals. However, he added that all of the fuel used by the company is being bought in Guyana along with all of its food supplies. There are also a few Guyanese employed on the ship out in the waters and it is expected that when the company starts the actual drilling more Guyanese would be employed.
Meantime, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Raphael Trotman, who also appeared before the committee today, said government is very optimistic that Guyanese will enjoy the wealth of oil and this will happen “relatively soon.” He did clarify that this will be within the next five to ten years.
As regards changes to the existing agreement between the company and the government, Trotman pointed out that the agreement is several years old and any changes will be done fairly to the company and in the best interest of the country.
Meanwhile, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, at his weekly press briefing, stated that Cabinet was given a brief by a team from the company and this covered an array of activities.
Training and integrating Guyanese into the various spheres of activity associated with petroleum exploration and production were discussed.
Additionally, much time was spent on the potential for associated gas that was discovered in the well and these included power generation, fertilizer production and liquid gas for domestic production.
