Government has admitted that its claimed 14 billion cubic feet (cu ft) flaring quota for ExxonMobil’s Liza-1 project is in fact not in its environmental permit, while the company maintained that it never used the figure to justify its flaring here.
“It is not in the permit. There may have been some misunderstanding or miscommunication but it isn’t in the permit…,” Ministry of Natural Resources Public Relations Officer Stephon Gabriel told Stabroek News.
Following the announcement by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo that government was “hamstrung” in instituting penalties to the company for the large flaring volumes, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat had last week echoed similar statements as he had told the National Assembly that ExxonMobil was allowed under the former APNU+AFC government to flare 14 billion cu ft of gas.
“Exxon is flaring, using about 16 million to 18 million cubic feet of gas per day. The EPA has worked this out and has said that is about 1.3 kilotonnes of carbon emitted. Most people didn’t understand [that] Exxon submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment for the project,” Jagdeo had first said.
“The document was, from what I gather, made public by the EPA that the EIA, which was approved by the EPA at that time and referred to by the Minister in the licence, Exxon was given an allowance to flare or to use 14 billion cu ft of gas. Fourteen billion! Right now, they have flared 12.5 billion cu ft. At the current rate of flaring, by the end of April, they would have flared the entire 14 billion cu ft,” he had added.
Jagdeo had said that he had asked the EPA to undertake a detailed analysis of all the documents and he will also be doing so.
However, to date he has not commented further on what the feedback was or his current position.
Minister Bharrat would also echo the same statements.
Following his 2021 budget debate contribution, Bharrat was asked by this newspaper to point to the excerpt in the EPA permit that allows for the flaring government has said was catered for.
He pointed this newspaper to Gabriel and Parmanand Persaud, another officer at the ministry, whom he said would provide the information to find the allowance.
“That was an agreement between the last government and Exxon,” Bharrat said.
Pressed on where in the permit it was stated, Bharrat replied “They published it you know. You didn’t see it?”
Told no, he then said that his government had published the permits for both Liza 1 and Payara and highlighted the 14 billion cu ft allowance. “Contact either Parmanand or Stephon at Natural Resources and they will give you a copy,” he said.
When Gabriel was contacted, he said he had to check on the information and subsequently returned a call to inform that there was no such provision in the permit.
On Thursday, ExxonMobil was asked by the Stabroek News if it had mentioned to government such a provision, as former Director of the EPA Dr Vincent Adams had told this newspaper that the company had sought justification last year with the same argument.
“No. We certainly have not. We are certainly aware of that number but we don’t view it as an allowance,” ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge emphatically responded.
He further explained that the 14 billion cu ft cumulative as stated in the EIA was used as an 18-month operational startup figure. “Eighteen months is a number included in the EIA. It is not in any of the permits, that number was generated by a third party… as an indication of what may be a possible under certain scenarios… It is not in the permit. It is not a permit limit. It was an estimation…,” he explained.
“We don’t see it as either as an allowance or a limit,” he stressed.
He said that he wanted to address the 14 billion cu ft within 18 months issue to make clear that “it is not a permit commitment or allowance. It is a number used within the Environmental Impact Assessment. It is the work that goes before the EPA issues a permit.”
“This was a number generated by a third party consultant as part of engagements… It was neither meant to be a limit or allowance. Our target is to be less than 1 million cu ft per day,” he added.
Routledge contended that his company has always been and continues to be in compliance with all laws of this country as it is its mandate and duty to never operate in violation of laws and regulations anywhere it conducts operations.
“There has been a lot of misinformation from other commentators in the news recently. One of those I want to address is the around the flaring limit or if we are out of compliance. We are very clear of what are our obligations… and we are certainly within those limits and we have not exceeded any parameter. We have sound systems to track also,” he said.
