Two sets of international consultants have been engaged to evaluate the ExxonMobil-led Yellowtail development, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat told the National Assembly on Thursday.
“I want to say we are not taking things lightly we have already engaged two different sets of international consultants to ensure they review the plan for Yellowtail and to ensure when a licence, once approved, is granted that it brings additional benefits to the people of Guyana and safeguards to ensure our environment is protected and actually benefit from the oil and gas sector,” Bharrat told the House during his contribution to the budget debate.
He did not disclose the names of the consultants engaged in the review process.
However, during a press conference, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, while providing an update said there were some setbacks in the review process. On this note, he explained that the government is anticipating a completion of the process by the end of March.
“We have some consultancies in place at the Ministry [of Natural Resources] that have been reviewing…there is a draft licence [in place] and a parallel process at the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency]. By that period, the reviewed will be completed and the licences issued,” Jagdeo disclosed.
Twelve international companies last month submitted bids in response to a call from the Natural Resources Ministry for Consultancy Services for the Review and Evaluation of Yellowtail Field Development Plans. The companies, according to minutes from the National Tender and Administration Board, were: Infinity Services & Xwells Mexico, Rwell Off-shore, Endeavor Management, Future Energy Partners Limited, MSI Inter-national, HIS Global, Sunstone Energy Advisory Service, Bay Phase, RPS Energy Consultants Ltd, Sproule, Strat Oil Energy Services and Neon-Blu Consulting.
In the call for the service, the Ministry stated that it anticipates that negotiations with the selected firm would commence on February 1 with the project starting around February 7. It said that negotiations will only be held if the technical proposal attains the required minimum score adding that firms must be prepared to furnish the detailed cost break-down and other clarifications to the proposals submitted.
Exxon’s local affiliate and partners applied to the EPA for an environmental permit and have since submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and other ancillary documents as part of the process as well as holding public consultations. The statutory period for the public to submit objections expired December 2021 and since then the EPA and the Environmental Assessment Board have been silent as to what the next move will be.
A number of environmentalists and groups submitted objections to the EIA, while saying that the company fails to address a number of impacts on the environment.
The Yellowtail project is ExxonMobil and its partners’ fourth development in the Stabroek Block and is considered the largest undertaking since Guyana became an oil-producing nation. As part of the Yellowtail Project, ExxonMobil plans to drill between 40 and 67 wells for the 20-year duration of the investment. It is intended to be the largest of the four developments with over 250,000 barrels of oil per day targeted once production commences. Based on the schedule, once approval is granted, engineering commences this year and production in the latter part of 2025.
