Exxon’s oil platform has experienced a gas compression problem forcing it to flare gas above pilot levels.
Exxon this afternoon issued the following statement which said “There was a technical issue regarding a seal on the gas compressor on Liza Destiny. This unfortunate incident resulted in us having to temporarily increase our flare above pilot levels in order to maintain safe operations”.
It quoted Alistair Routledge, President of ExxonMobil Guyana as saying “We are disappointed that this unexpected issue has occurred and we’re working diligently with the vessel’s owner and the equipment vendor to understand and fix the issue as quickly as possible”.
Exxon said that the relevant government authorities have been informed and it is providing regular updates.
Since its production startup in December of 2019 and up to last November, ExxonMobil had flared over 10.6 billion cubic feet of gas posing major environmental questions for Guyana.
On December 20 last year, Exxon said that flaring of gas was now down to “pilot levels”.
Problems just a month later will raise questions about whether Exxon and its offshore partners have settled the issue.
