Key studies for ExxonMobil’s proposed sixth oil platform have been completed and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday invited public feedback.
“The Public is hereby notified that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Whiptail Development Project, Production facilitates for petroleum production in the Stabroek Licence Area, offshore Guyana, proposed by the Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), have been submitted…,” the EPA said in a notice in the state-owned Guyana Chronicle newspaper.
It said that in accordance with Section 11(10) of the Environmental Protection Act, Cap, 20:05 (as amended in 2005), members of the public shall have sixty days from the date of publication of this notice (August 20,2023), to review said EIA/EIS and make written submissions to the Environmental Protection Agency, as they consider appropriate”.
But while the notice stated that the documents could be found on the website, it had not, up to press time, been uploaded by the agency. The EPA continues to give links for documents but does not immediately upload the specified document. Hard copies of the documents can be obtained on request, according to the EPA, but would require a payment for the photocopying from either, the EPA’s Georgetown Office, the National Library, University of Guyana Turkeyen Campus or any of the Regional Democratic Council offices throughout the country.
What would be the sixth of ExxonMobil’s projects in the Stabroek Block to date, the development covers the Whiptail, Pinktail and Tilapia discoveries. When the EPA had in January of this year announced that the company had applied for authorization for the project, it made clear that they would have to produce an EIA, given that it could significantly affect the environment. Against this background, the EPA had issued a 28 days’ notice to the public to submit questions and matters which they would like to be answered or considered in the EIA. The Whiptail project summary could be found on the agency’s website. A synopsis of the project states that it will be implemented in multiple stages which will include drilling and completions, mobilization and installation of subsea equipment, umbilicals, risers and flowlines, installation of a FPSO facility, production operations and decommissioning.
According to the EPA, the proposed project will be undertaken in the marine offshore environment and would require land-based activities for support at marine shore bases and thus there could be possible environmental effects. “As a result of the intended developmental activities, possible effects to the environment may include impacts on marine water quality, air quality, marine fauna, and socio-economic resources, among others”, it said.
ExxonMobil has held public discussions on the project and had informed that it would again use the company, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), to undertake the impact study. With few local participants at the Georgetown scoping session held in February of this year, Project Manager (Guyana) Anthony Jackson had urged that the public send questions about concerns that they have about the Whiptail project to the EPA, so as to help guide the EIA process and ensure that proper analyses and mitigation measures are included.
The Whiptail 1 and Whiptail 2 discoveries were announced in July of 2021. The company had stated that Whiptail-1 well encountered 246 feet (75 meters) of net pay in high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs and was drilled in 5,889 feet (1,795 meters) of water. Relating to the Whiptail-2 well, ExxonMobil said it encountered 167 feet (51 meters) of net pay in high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs. Whiptail-2 was drilled in 6,217 feet (1,895 meters) of water. Guyana’s Stabroek block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, is the operator and holds 45% interest in the block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.
ExxonMobil already has five approved projects: Liza-1, Liza-2, Payara, Yellowtail and Uaru. Two platforms are producing oil and a third is set to begin doing so. Platforms are under construction for the other two.
