Concerns raised by Guyana’s oversight agencies were among reasons for an expanded examination of plans for ExxonMobil’s proposed third oil well, Payara, and the former premier of Alberta, Canada who is heading up the review had been recommended by the Canadian Government
This was disclosed yesterday by Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat amid continuing questions about the purpose behind the review of ExxonMobil’s Field Development Plan (FDP) for Payara and whether Canadian Queen’s Counsel, Alison Redford was the appropriate person for this exercise.
Bharrat said that oversight agencies here along with the previously contracted United Kingdom firm Bayphase oil and gas consultants are actively assisting the new team led by Redford. It is unclear how long the review will last and ExxonMobil has raised concerns for some months now that delayed approvals for Payara could cost the country money.
The Minister said that it was concerns raised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Department of Energy, such as the impact of reservoir water dumping into the ocean and flaring volumes that are among the issued to be addressed.
“Bayphase was contracted and over the past eight months had been working on a review (of the FDP). There is a misconception that the new team will be doing the entire review. The EPA, the GGMC (Guyana Geology and Mines Commission) and the Department of Energy, these agencies had been contributing…,” the Minister yesterday told Stabroek News.
“What they are doing with Allison and her team is just re-examining the work done by Bayphase …it does not also equate to that when that is done there will be an automatic acceptance and go ahead. It is to guide on what has to be done, what has to be strengthened, tightened, fixed…” he added.
The Minister of Natural Resources explained that the PPP/C government asked for a review of the Payara project because they understand the importance of “getting it right” for Guyana as compared to Exxon’s desired optimal time for a decision.
“Exxon says it is working with a timeline and that is not our fault, that was the (five-month) political impasse. If we were buying into their position and timeline we would not have asked for an overall review to assess for ourselves,” he said, while stressing the importance of the sector.
Sources close to the decision-making process told Stabroek News that concerns from Guyana’s EPA about both short and long-term effects on the ocean and environment from the Payara project are being addressed.
“As I understand, there are issues about Exxon’s dumping of over 250,000 tonnes of reservoir water into the ocean and then using clean ocean water for reinjection. That does not make sense because the well water is to be used for reinjection. There is no study on the impact and toxicity of this on the ocean and we cannot just go with commitments. We need to see the studies of the effects because this is a different project. The density and technical information and management of the reservoir has to meet international and environmental standards or we will just be left to spend whatever money we got on clean up,” one source asserted.
“There are also issues about flaring (of gas) because you know the situation we are in. We have said that we do not want flaring. And …there has to be legal binding language and clauses that guarantee and clarify what is expected, because the feedback thus far is not good. I also understand that an issue about ocean vibrations and tremors was raised…so there a number of issues,” the source added.
‘Lead role’
This newspaper understands that Director of the EPA Dr. Vincent Adams, who has decades of experience in the public and private sectors in the environmental management, groundwater and petroleum production fields, and worked on US$ billion dollars projects at the United Stated Department of Energy, where he had served for some 30 years, is playing a “lead role”.
Adams holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering, MSc Degrees in Groundwater Hydrology and Geological Engineering/Petroleum Engineering, and a BSc in Civil Engineering. “We have Dr. Adams there and he knows what this is about and what is needed to be done in the best interest of this country and are confident he will assist,” one source said.
Questioned on why Adams was not then appointed the lead reviewer, the source said that it was a Canadian grant and Redford was identified by the Canadian government and this government has confidence that she and Adams and the entire team, “will advise the government on the people’s best interest, this country’s best interest and the environment’s sustainability.”
On Saturday, an announcement only of the hiring of Redford immediately prompted questions over her technical qualifications to conduct the review, which resulted in the ministry hours later explaining in a second press release that she would be leading a team and that she has also worked with other groups around the world to conduct similar reviews. It also detailed her experience in the field and in governance.
Former Petroleum Advisor to President David Granger, Jan Mangal was vocal on Redford’s hiring as he questioned her expertise. “Is the PPP trying to compete with the Coalition for mismanaging our oil? FDP’s are clearly not Ms. Redford’s expertise (from her Bio). Nor can one person do anything. This is a very sad joke, at the expense of Guyana. Did the PPP not look at Ms. Redford’s Bio? Do the Canadians take Guyanese for fools?” Mangal questioned.
“Below is her Bio from 2016. Clearly (she) has no business reviewing a FDP. How many FDP’s has she reviewed for similar deepwater projects like Payara? I assume ZERO until told otherwise. Guyanese need to object to this inappropriate business. This is so disheartening. Is there no hope for us?” he added.
Stabroek News reached out to Redford via email and calls to a number she had provided this newspaper with back in 2018, when she was a guest speaker at the Guyana Petroleum Exhibition (GIPEX). There was no response. She had been the keynote speaker on the topic ‘Partnerships Between International Companies and Local Partners – International Trends’.
Redford leads the team that will be reviewing the evaluation of plans for the development of ExxonMobil’s Payara oil field that is being undertaken by Bayphase Oil and Gas Consultants. The team also includes the former Deputy Minister of Energy in Newfoundland, Canada, senior international reservoir engineers and Jay Park, QC, Managing Partner of Park Energy Law based in Canada and the United Kingdom.
In 2018, the then APNU+AFC and the Government of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation towards responsible oil and gas development opportunities.
Former Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin and Natural Resources Minister of the Canadian province Siobhan Coady had inked the agreement for their respective countries.
On Saturday, Redford, Guyana’s oil and gas oversight agency heads and a representative of Bayphase met with Bharrat.
‘Reputation’
The Minister of Natural Resources reiterated that the team came from recommendations of the Canadian government which has been assisting the sector for some time and defended the decision.
“Alison came on recommendation and with a grant from the Canadian government. They will not jeopardize their reputation to recommend someone they feel does not meet the requirement,” he said.
The Ministry on Saturday had highlighted Redford’s profile. It stated that she has served as a World Bank advisor on gas sector reform in Pakistan and also as an advisor in other jurisdictions, as they develop novel approaches to upstream regulation and community engagement.
It added that as Premier of the Canadian province of Alberta, she introduced the Responsible Energy Development Act, which created the Alberta Energy Regulator. The Act sets out rigorous regulation, compliance and enforcement provisions on all aspects of oil and gas production, including permits and licences.
Further, it said she also developed the Canadian Energy Strategy for Canadian First Ministers and the Transition Energy Initiative for the Conference Board of Canada.
The ministry also noted that Redford served as Attorney General of Alberta from 2008 to 2011 and as Premier from 2011 to 2014, overseeing the legislative, policy, political and financial operations of the Province with a $40 Billion CDN (balanced) budget, including, oversight of the Province’s sovereign wealth fund.
It said she has also worked on several bilateral and multilateral projects particularly in energy sector regulation and has worked in multiple countries on behalf of the United Nations, the Commonwealth and the European Union.
“…I[t] must be emphasized that while this is a limited reflection of Ms. Redford and her team’s skills and capacity building abilities, they also have vast knowledge in the field of policies and legal framework that supports accountability and transparency within the petroleum sector,” the ministry said.
No mention was made that Redford had stepped down as Alberta’s premier in 2014 after serving for two and a half years following a series of questions about her leadership and controversy over expenditure on plane tickets. She resigned as a member of the legislative assembly for the electoral district of Calgary-Elbow, two days after the Alberta Justice Minister obtained a legal opinion that criminal charges against her were possible.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had in 2014 opened an investigation after the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) revealed Redford had flown her daughter on 50 government flights. Auditor General Merwan Saher conducted an audit of Redford’s travel expenses and her use of government planes. CBC had said that Saher found Redford and her office used taxpayer money “inappropriately” during her time as Alberta premier, with planes used for personal and partisan purposes.
In February of 2015, the RCMP closed the investigation without charges.
