ExxonMobil Report says: Oil spill from 6th oil project could devastate livelihoods of citizens in Regions 1 to 6

Sep 10, 2023 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

---

Kaieteur News – Based on oil spill modeling conducted for ExxonMobil’s sixth project, an unmitigated incident could devastate the livelihoods of citizens in Regions One through Six. This is outlined in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the company’s US$13B venture called Whiptail.

The document notes that Exxon is expected to produce oil from the Whiptail, Pinktail, and Tilapia fields of the Stabroek Block. These fields are approximately 1,500 to 2,200 meters deep. The oil is expected to be extracted from 33 to 72 development wells (including production and water/gas injection wells). It will also see the installation of a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel to process, store, and offload the recovered oil. Currently, the FPSO’s basic design has an upper production limit of 263,000 barrels per day (bpd).

For the purposes of the EIA, the document states that production of up to 300,000 bpd is considered to assess potential impacts from the project and cover potential production optimization after facility start-up.

In the event that there is an oil spill, the report notes that portions of the coastline in Regions One and Two could potentially be impacted. Exxon’s modeling also indicates an oil spill would not have a reasonable likelihood of affecting marine waters southeastward or seaward of the FPSO.

“However, all six coastal regions and the entire extent of Guyana’s marine territorial waters were defined collectively as the Indirect AOI (Area of Influence). These areas are included due to the potential for community members from all coastal regions (in particular fisherfolk and other marine users) to be directly or indirectly affected in the event of an unplanned event such as an oil spill…,” the report stated.

It also notes that the minimum time for an oil spill to reach the shoreline predicted by its model was five to 10 days after the release event for both Regions One and Two in both scenarios.

Exxon was keen to note that this does not account for any oil spill response (e.g., aerial, vessel, or subsea dispersant application; offshore containment and recovery; or source control operations). As such, the company said any preventive measures taken to keep oil from reaching the coast during a response would reduce the potential of shoreline oiling in Guyana. In fact, the company said the five to 10-day travel time for oil would allow ample time for mobilization of spill response resources to further reduce the risk of oil actually reaching the shoreline.

Nonetheless, if oil were to reach the Guyana shoreline, Exxon said those resources most at risk would include protected areas (i.e., Shell Beach Protected Area), coastal habitats (especially mangroves and marshes), and coastal wildlife (especially birds), as well as coastal communities and Indigenous Peoples dependent on fishing in the ocean and other ecosystem services.

Exxon also noted that its oil spill modeling indicates that transboundary impacts could potentially occur, assuming no mitigation measures were implemented. The modeling results for these scenarios indicate there is the potential for an unmitigated oil spill to reach Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Grenada, Haiti, the northern South American coast, and the so-called “ABC Islands” (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao).

Exxon was keen to note that it has established a response plan that will enable the deployment of a capping stack on well locations within 5.5 days, assuming no debris removal. The company said its modeling of the mitigated scenario demonstrates that this, in combination with other response measures (e.g., dispersant application), would significantly reduce the extent of transboundary impacts. In any case, Exxon said it will work through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the direction of the Government of Guyana, with representatives of the respective countries that could be potentially impacted by a large oil spill to be prepared for the unlikely event of a spill.

Exxon’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) is the designated Operator of the Stabroek Block under a Petroleum Agreement signed by EEPGL and its co-venturers, Hess Guyana Exploration Limited and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, with the Government of Guyana.

The 2016 Petroleum Agreement covers approximately 26,806 square kilometers and was executed together with a Petroleum Prospecting Licence for the Stabroek Block. Per the Petroleum Agreement, EEPGL previously obtained approval from the Government of Guyana for five development projects in the Stabroek Block—the Liza Phase 1 Development Project, Liza Phase 2 Development Project, Payara Development Project, Yellowtail Development Project, and Uaru Development Project.

Whiptail is the sixth EEPGL development project proposed in the eastern portion of the Stabroek Block.

---

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), ExxonMobil’s, Livelihoods, Regions, Stabroek Block

---