The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Sunday served notice that ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) has applied for an environmental authorization to undertake its seventh oil extraction project at the Hammerhead site.
EMGL already has three producing platforms in the Atlantic and three more are under construction as the company aims to extract well over one million barrels of oil per day from the Stabroek Bloc in the coming years.
The Hammerhead project will again put the spotlight on this government on whether it will seek improved benefits for Guyana rather than sticking with the broadly criticized 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).
The EPA notice said it has been determined that the project may significantly affect the environment and will therefore require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before any decision can be made.
Among other things, the EPA said that the project is in relatively close proximity to other development projects which heightens the risk for cumulative impacts of the project. The EPA added that the associated risks attached to the unplanned events of petroleum production activities may be significant.
Members of the public now have 28 days as of Sunday’s notice in the Sunday Stabroek to make written submissions to the agency setting out the questions and matters which they require to be answered or considered in an EIA.
A summary of the project is intended to be available on the EPA’s website or it can be uplifted from its office.
On April 12 this year, ExxonMobil said that it had made a final investment decision for the Whiptail development offshore Guyana, after receiving the required government and regulatory approvals.
Whiptail, the sixth project on the Stabroek block, is expected to add around 250,000 barrels of daily capacity by the end of 2027.
“Our sixth multi-billion-dollar project in Guyana will bring the country’s production capacity to approximately 1.3 million barrels per day,” said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, a release from the company said.
“Our unrivaled success in developing the Guyana resource at industry-leading pace, cost and environmental performance is built on close collaboration with the government of Guyana, as well as our partners, suppliers, and contractors. The Stabroek block developments are among the lowest emissions intensity assets in ExxonMobil’s upstream portfolio and will provide the world with additional reliable energy supplies now and for years to come”, the release said.
The US$12.7 billion Whiptail project will include up to 10 drill centres with 48 production and injection wells.
Production from the six Stabroek block developments will generate tens of billions of dollars of revenue and significant economic development for Guyana, the release said.
The Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Whiptail project, to be named Jaguar, is under construction. Three FPSOs – the Liza Destiny, Liza Unity and Prosperity – are currently operating offshore Guyana and are “safely producing” more than 600,000 barrels of oil per day. Construction is underway on FPSOs for the Yellowtail and Uaru projects, with Yellowtail anticipated to start production in 2025 and Uaru targeted in 2026.