Page 9 - LatAmOil Week 49 2021

LatAmOil GUYANA LatAmOil

The Liza Destiny FPSO is currently extracting 120,000 bpd of oil (Image: ExxonMobil)

ExxonMobil says Liza Destiny

is producing oil at safe levels

EXXONMOBIL Guyana, a subsidiary of the extracting 120,000 barrels per day of crude,
US-based super-major ExxonMobil, has down- even though its design capacity had been set at
played recent expressions of concern about the 100,000 bpd.
long-term production levels being sustained by This argument has been rejected by Kemraj
the Liza Destiny, the floating production, stor- Parsram, the current head of the EPA. Parsram
age and off-loading (FPSO) vessel installed at has pointed to the sections of the environmental
the Liza-1 offshore oilfield. impact assessment (EIA) for the Liza-1 field that
Janelle Persaud, the media and communica- cover long-term output rates, as these state that
tions manager of ExxonMobil Guyana, noted the FPSO has the potential to operate safely at
last week that her company had always operated sustained peaks of up to around 120,000 bpd.
the FPSO in full compliance with the country’s He has also noted that the EIA’s estimates of
regulatory regime and within safe operational potential environmental impact were calculated
limits. “ExxonMobil Guyana remains in compli- on the basis of the highest potential production
ance with all regulations and laws related to our volume, which amounts to 144,000 bpd.
operations, including the Liza Phase One Pro- Liza-1, which is part of the Stabroek block, is
ject environmental permit,” she said in response the first oilfield to come online in Guyana’s off-
to questions from OilNOW.gy. shore zone. It came on stream in December 2019
Persaud also stressed that the ExxonMobil and had to suspend operations several times in
subsidiary was subject to extensive oversight 2020 because of problems with the Liza Desti-
by Guyanese government agencies such as the ny’s flash gas compressor (FGC).
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and The next field to begin production will be
the Ministry of Labour, both of which had Liza-2, which is slated to reach first oil in early
recently sent delegations to the FPSO for an 2022. The field will be developed with another
inspection. FPSO, the Liza Unity, which will have a capac-
“There are robust compliance assurance sys- ity of 220,000 bpd. ExxonMobil is then slated
tems in place to ensure we abide by all permits to begin work at its third development target,
and requirements, keeping [the] appropriate Payara, in 2024 before moving on to the Yel-
government agencies continually updated on lowtail field in 2025. Both of these fields will be
our operations ... We are committed to working developed with FPSOs too.
openly and transparently with these agencies,” To date, ExxonMobil and its partners have
she said. found more than 20 fields containing more
The news site’s query to Persaud was than 10bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) at the
prompted by recent remarks by Vincent Stabroek block. The other partners in the pro-
Adams, the former director of Guyana’s EPA. ject are the US independent company Hess and
Adams pointed out in an article published late state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp.
last month that the Liza Destiny was routinely (CNOOC). ™

Week 49 09•December•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9