Guyana’s oil production peaked at 400,000 barrels last month

Feb 22, 2023 News

– EPA says technical analysis done to support increase at two ships

By Kiana Wilburg

Kaieteur News – Guyana’s two oil ships—the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity—reached their highest production mark last month at 400,160 barrels, according to data from the Ministry of Natural Resources. This was attained on January 12, 2023. A breakdown of the data indicated that the Liza Destiny produced 153, 890 barrels on that day while Unity was 246,270 barrels.

Following January 12, production hovered around 330,000-390,000 barrels of oil per day. January 31 closed with a daily production of 393, 290 barrels.

Head of EPA’s Oil and Gas Department, Joel Gravesande

Notably, both ships are producing beyond their nameplate capacity. The Liza Destiny’s nameplate capacity is 120,000 barrels while it is 220,000 barrels of oil per day for Liza Unity.

Concerns have been raised about the implications of increasing the production. Former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams has lamented time and again, that in his view, such a move is unsafe; that it spells grave danger for Guyana and the wider Caribbean. He believes this increases the risk for a major oil spill.

His successor, Kemraj Parsram does not share this view. In an interview with Kaieteur News, Parsram said the EPA has been working earnestly to ensure the integrity of the oil operations is not compromised. He also assured that no increase in production occurs without thorough review by the EPA.

Parsram said, “In all of the environmental permits, one of the key requirements is that if there is any change to what was approved they (Exxon and partners) must seek approval from the EPA and in so doing, we will require information that will help assess if it will cause significant impacts before approving same.”

Head of the Oil and Gas Department, Joel Gravesande also confirmed this, noting that ExxonMobil’s subsidiary; Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) did seek permission before pumping more oil at its Stabroek Block operations.

EPA Head, Kemraj Parsram

Gravesande said the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) makes two important points on production. “Both vessels which are floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities, can operate beyond design parameters. There is an operating parameter and a design parameter. The design for Destiny for example is about 150,000 barrels but it was operating at 120,000 barrels of oil per day…,” the official said.

Gravesande said the consideration of impacts from a worst case scenario of an unmitigated oil spill is also considered in the EIA for the Liza Destiny at 200,000 to 300,000 barrels of oil per day. “So even the impacts are considered beyond the operating level and now they are at 150,000 barrels of oil per day. The emissions and impacts on water are all considered. When they requested to go to 150,000 we still required that a technical analysis done on the equipment to ensure there are no mishaps,” the Head of the Oil and Gas Department said.

Gravesande shared too that a Hazardous and Operability Study (HAZOP) was also done for government. This document outlines that the vessels could function at a higher production level.

The Liza Unity FPSO

He added, “When the EIA was done, a lot of the data used were hypothetical data so what we ordered as well was an analysis of the effects based on real data which we have been gathering over the last two years for the Liza Destiny and over the last year for the Liza Unity. So we redid the water and air quality modeling and it was in keeping with the EIA.”

Gravesande said the foregoing is a testimony to the EPA’s commitment to ensure all boxes are checked when monitoring offshore oil and gas operations.

The capacity of the EPA will be further heightened following an agreement that was signed between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Maxar Technologies, a world renowned provider of comprehensive space solutions and precise, geospatial intelligence. The two organizations inked a three-year contractual agreement for Maxar to provide environmental monitoring services for both offshore and terrestrial applications.

The Liza Destiny FPSO

The Environmental Protection Agency will utilize Maxar’s Crow’s Nest Maritime Monitoring and Security products to support offshore petroleum monitoring. It will also use the Crow’s Nest Maritime Tipping and Cueing Service, which leverages Maxar’s very-high resolution optical satellites, to monitor drilling vessels for regulatory compliance and safety. It will also use the Crow’s Nest Multi-Sensor Oil Detection Service to identify potential spills.

The agreement with Guyana marks Maxar’s first Crow’s Nest contract in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Maxar Technologies Inc.’s three year contract with Guyana costs US$ 1,160,714.0. It will be taken from a US$20M World Bank loan which the country received back in 2019.

• Joel Gravesande, Kemraj Parsram, Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Maxar Technologies Inc.