Following questions raised by environmentalist Janette Bulkan relating to the effects of dredging operations on fish stocks and nurseries at the mouth of the Demerara River, NRG Holdings Incorporated has said that extensive consultations were held with fisherfolk in the area.
In a statement to Sunday Stabroek, NRG Holdings – a local consortium formed to construct a shore base facility at Vreed-en Hoop – said that it has submitted an Environmental Social Management Plan (ESMP) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It added that all outcomes related to the project were considered and discussions held with fisherfolk pertaining to traditional fishing grounds.
“The impact of the project on the fisherfolk and their livelihood was a focus of the Environmental Social Management Plan. The plan has accessed the available fisheries data for the area from the Department of Fisheries. This was supplemented by collecting landing site data to understand fish stocks and the landings in the area,” NRG said in its statement.
On September 06, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted an environmental permit to NRG Holdings Incorporated, clearing the way for the start of its projected US$600 million Vreed-en-Hoop oil and gas shore base development. The EPA had said that the Best Village, West Coast Demerara (WCD) shore base would not require an EIA, noting that the project was screened and categorised as having no significant impacts.
Last month, NRG Holdings turned the sod to officially commence construction of the US$300 million shore base. In April, VEHSI and ExxonMobil Guyana signed the agreement for shore base services to be provided at the Port of Vreed-en-Hoop Facility. This is the first shore base to begin construction in the region.
In June, NRG Holdings announced that the ‘Zheng He’ had arrived in Guyana for the commencement of phase one of the project which would see the deepening, widening and dredging of the access channel as well as land reclamation.
Dredging commenced on July 1.
In a letter to the editor and published in the Stabroek News, Bulkan said “The area defined for dredging crosses traditional fishing grounds of the artisanal fishermen. Few fishermen read the newspapers and I am not aware of any other attempt to inform them of the disruption to their business.”
The ‘two trailing suction hopper dredges’ (TSHD) are owned by Dutch company Jan De Nul – a partner in the Vreed en Hoop Shore Base Incorporated (VEHSI). The vessels can dredge to a depth of 30 metres. Bulkan reminded that the present entry channel is much shorter, narrower and can be dredged 5-6 metres.
She added that “The two dredgers have capacities of 18,000 m3 and 4,000 m3. It seems from the MARAD notice number 113 that ExxonMobil’s intention is to triple the depth of the channel to 15 metres.
“By its nature, dredging disturbs the natural environment and, here, affects the livelihoods of fishermen. Fishers have both legal and customary rights to their traditional fishing grounds. I cannot find any call by the Environmental Protection Agency to demand an Environmental Impact Assessment. Where is the dredged mud to be discharged, between now and the end of 2022? The EIAs for the first four fields (Liza-1, Liza-2, Payara and Yellowtail) all disclaim attention to dredging. This is stated to be associated with and the responsibility of the shore-base owners/operators, and is expressly excluded from the EIAs. The EPA’s covering statement for the Liza-2 EIA mentions ‘pipe yards and bonds’ onshore but not any dredging,”
NRG in its statement explained that an impact assessment of the dredging and disposal activities was done and considered both direct and indirect impacts.
“Modelling studies have been undertaken to assess the impact of sediment transport and deposition by the dredging and disposal activities. The results have shown that the impact is mainly located in the dredging and disposal areas, with little deposition further downstream.
“…extensive consultation was done with fisherfolk on the traditional fishing grounds. Focus group meetings and public consultations were held between March 21 – 26. Further, surveys were done on March 29, 2022, and May 7 – 9, 2022; to identify fishing grounds in the nearshore and offshore, within the project area. This was conducted in collaboration with the assistance of fisherfolk representatives from Goed Fortuin, Meadow Bank, Vreed-en-hoop, and the Department of Fisheries,” the company related.
When asked how and where the mud from the dredging activity would be disposed, NRG explained that the project has two different types of dredgers deployed – a cutter suction hopper dredger and a trailer suction hopper dredger.
It further stated that the cutter suction hopper dredger is a type of stationary dredger that cuts the material with a rotating cutter-head and disposes of the cut material through a floating pipeline towards the disposal area. The disposal area is located west of the channel towards the mouth of the Demerara River. The material is being spread out over the area by means of a spray pontoon.
The dredger Zheng He is dredging from the mouth of the Demerara River outbound, creating a new channel over a length of ±8 nautical miles (NM).
It added that the trailer suction hopper dredger lowers a drag-head onto the sea bottom and temporarily stores the material inside the hopper of the vessel. This dredger is deepening and widening the channel beyond the 8 nautical miles which has been dredged by the cutter suction dredge. The disposal of the material is done in a predefined area west and north of the channel. The total length of the channel is 15 NM.
The shore base, which is being undertaken by VEHSI, is a component of the Port of Vreed-en-Hoop project. VEHSI is a joint venture between NRG Holdings Incorporated—a Guyanese-owned consortium comprising Hadi’s World Incorporated, National Hardware Limited and ZRN Investments Incorporated—and Jan De Nul, a Luxembourg-based engineering and construction firm that specialises in marine services, offshore services, civil engineering, environmental management activities and project development.
VEHSI serves as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the 20-acre shore base. NRG Holdings Inc.—the developer of the Port of Vreed-en-Hoop project— holds an 85 per cent stake in the joint venture.
The facility is expected to generate at least 300 jobs during the construction phase while the jobs generated during the operation phase will depend solely on the needs of Exxon. In April, Boyer had said that the construction methodology is heavy equipment-based, so there will be a demand for operators and equipment movers. He said that VEHSI is a sub-project of the Port of Vreed-en-Hoop masterplan and 85% of the shares are owned by Guyanese. The other 15% is held by the contractor Jan De Nul Group. The facility will occupy some 400 hectares of coastland.
The shore base development will include facilities such as general/heavy loading berths, storage/laydown yards, construction offices, mess hall, parking, and backup generators.
