Concerns about liability coverage in the event of oil spills and other accidents, and meeting local insurance requirements are yet to be resolved between ExxonMobil and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) resulting in a stalling of works at the company’s Stabroek Block, sources say.
Stabroek News was told that the EPA has continued to hold-off on the issuing of permits and drilling at ExxonMobil’s next well, the Yellowtail-1, could be hampered should the issues not be resolved soon. Following its latest oil finds at the Tilapia-1 and Haimara-1 wells which brought the total number of discoveries on the offshore Stabroek Block to 12, ExxonMobil announced last month that the Noble Tom Madden drillship will next drill the Yellowtail-1 well, approximately six miles west of Tilapia-1. Baseline 4-D seismic data gathering is underway, the company had said in a statement on February 6.
Contacted by Stabroek News yesterday, Public and Government Affairs Manager of Exxon-Mobil, Deedra Moe, said, “We’re actively engaged with the EPA to progress environmental permits for our work activities.”