As gas delivery for Guyana’s ambitious power project draws closer, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) is gearing up for brief shutdowns of two of its Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) platforms.
President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge spoke on the subject at a press conference on Tuesday at the company’s Kingston headquarters.
“So, the pipeline will be ready by the end of this year. In order to get it ready, we do need to take those shutdowns on Liza Phase One and Liza Phase Two. That will happen in the July/August timeframe, approximately two weeks for each of the shutdowns and those two FPSOs. They’ll be done separately… So, we’ll do one after the other. That will be one of the major steps to completing the pipeline. We’ll be ready by the end of the year,” Routledge explained to reporters.
The company head also revealed that 70% of the pipeline’s offshore segment is currently complete.
He further emphasized the importance of focusing on reserves rather than resources, as reserves, he said, are what generate revenue. Routledge highlighted the 4.8 billion oil-equivalent barrels of reserves being developed by the six approved projects, stressing that this is the key number to consider for revenue generation.
Both government and Exxon have been pressed as to why updated figures are not being provided on resources in the Stabroek Block following new discoveries.
According to Routledge, the Liza Destiny – Guyana’s first FPSO – is currently producing around 162,000 barrels a day, while the Liza Unity has a production of approximately 200,000 barrels a day.
He noted that the estimated oil shortfall during the installation period for the gas pipeline is determined based on these figures, with emphasis on the fact that the deferred production is not considered lost production since the oil remains in the ground.
Declaration
EMGL and its former broker Ramps Logistics Guyana Inc (RLGI) have recently come under close scrutiny over an alleged false declaration to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) which saw a figure of US$12.1b being inscribed for oil well equipment when the figure should have been around US$4.4m. The discrepancy was detected by the GRA and both Exxon and Ramps were asked to provide an explanation.
Routledge stated Exxon’s commitment to transparency and compliance with regulations. When asked about whether or not the company has been served any court documents in relation to the invoice which is being investigated by the GRA , he responded in the negative.
“We have not received any court summons or documents. We are always committed to working ethically and correctly, making sure all of our submissions for tax purposes or cost recovery are accurate… every two years or so we call a business practices review with all our employees to ensure they understand their expectations around reporting accurately, doing business correctly, not having conflicts of interests with the business interests, you know, a number of other areas that we would set very clear expectations. If there is something that is not as it should have been, we will learn from that and ensure… in fact, we’ve already revisited the procedures around those submissions. As you may also be aware the company that is supporting us for those customs duties has changed and so we don’t anticipate that kind of issue arising again. But we’ll learn and make sure that we put in place everything we can to not have errors,” he stated.
In a brief statement on April 26, the company said: “ExxonMobil Guyana (EMGL) became aware of a clerical error in a Customs declaration filed by our former broker in 2023 from an investigation initiated by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). EMGL did not compose the erroneous declaration, nor were we aware of this clerical error when the declaration was filed. EMGL is cooperating fully with the GRA in its investigation of this matter”.
ExxonMobil has written to the GRA to put itself in the clear. Its controller, William A Thompson wrote to Deputy Commissioner, Jason Moore on April 16 stating that EMGL was not the declarant and had not made any false declaration.
In the correspondence seen by Stabroek News, Thompson said the declaration was made by RLGI “as borne out by the information in column 14 of the prescribed customs declaration form” provided by the GRA.
He added that EMGL has not made or caused to be made any false declaration.
“Any error made by RLGI was a typographical error which did not inure to the detriment of or cause any loss” to the GRA.
Ramps in its defence has said that the declaration was prepared based on information provided by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited through its KABAL System.
Addressing that contention, Thompson “To the best of EMGL’s knowledge, all information that was available to RLGI from the KABAL platform was accurate and any error was not caused by EMGL”.
Under its contract with EMGL, Thompson said that RLGI had an obligation to review and verify all inbound shipping documentation such as bills of lading and packing lists etc and ensure that all such documentation was accurate and correct and met the country’s customs requirements.
“In these circumstances there are no apparent circumstances why proceedings ought to be instituted against EMGL as a matter of fact or law. EMGL is ready to engage with the Guyana Revenue Authority in the spirit of (dialogue) and cooperation to address any remaining concerns that the Authority may have on this matter”, he added.
