Sixth oil project to further batter fishing industry – Exxon Study reveals

Apr 19, 2024 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

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“…some fisherfolk have been forced to sell their boats and find alternative jobs. In many cases, fish catch prices have stayed the same while the cost of living has increased, and the distance and effort to catch fish has also increased,” – EIA

…increased vessel traffic to also impact Guyana’s commercial cargo transports

Kaieteur News – The expanding oil and gas economy in Guyana is being seen as a boon by many for the country’s economy but the potential impacts on the lives of the many citizens that are going to be directly impacted with the increased vessel traffic between the Georgetown harbour and the Whiptail Development Project Area (PDA) are many. These include, the further decimation of the country’s fishing industry since the development of the new project, will result in the reduced availability of ocean surface areas, for commercial fishing and artisanal fishing. This much is documented in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), since approved by the regulatory body—the Environmental Protection Agency—as part of its approval process in order to secure its Petroleum Production Licence. The EIA also acknowledges that the increased traffic will not only affect the fishing industry, but also interfere with commercial cargo.

According to the EIA, the ExxonMobil led consortium will be using a number of support vessel trips to and from a Guyana or Trinidad and Tobago shorebase for the development and operation of the Project. It stipulated too that during development, approximately 10 to 15 round trips per week. During installation, approximately three to five round trips per week; and, during the production operations stage, approximately three to five round trips per week.

That EIA document also reiterated that the US$12.7B Whiptail Project will also generate a variety of marine vessel trips throughout the life of the Project, including maritime transport of Project materials, supplies, and personnel, as well as the presence of the FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Vessels), drill ships, and major installation vessels. “These marine activities will potentially impact vessel traffic into and out of Georgetown harbour, open-ocean shipping in the vicinity of the PDA (Production Development Area), the limited commercial fishing activity that occurs as far out as the PDA, and commercial and artisanal fishing activity within the transit corridor between the PDA and Georgetown harbour.”

The company insists however, that project-related vessels and commercial vessels are expected to be able to safely navigate around other vessels in these areas and as such, the significance of potential residual impacts on commercial cargo vessels is listed as negligible.

Expanding on the commercial fishing vessels offshore, the company outlined that this industry will lose access to some fishing areas that are currently available to them and will have to avoid Project-related vessel traffic where none currently exists.

It notes however, “Artisanal fishing occurs well inshore of the PDA, so there will be no loss of access for artisanal fishing. Artisanal fishing vessels could experience interference due to movements of Project-related vessel traffic.”

According to the EIA, “while Notices to Mariners will be provided to mitigate potential interference with commercial and artisanal fishing vessel navigation, there are limitations—particularly for artisanal vessels—to the effectiveness of these notices.

The ExxonMobil EIA also concedes reports of a decline in fish catch that has displaced some fisherfolk from their livelihoods and that “some fisherfolk have been forced to sell their boats and find alternative jobs. In many cases, fish catch prices have stayed the same while the cost of living has increased, and the distance and effort to catch fish has also increased.”

The EIA additionally concedes that catches have decreased, resulting in longer days at sea, while inflation has driven increased prices for fuel and equipment.

“Other complications include a loss of skilled workers, and the operational challenges of finding new fishing grounds. Fisherfolk representatives indicated that there is a lack of incentives or other support for the artisanal fishing sector, compared to other sectors in Guyana,” according to the Exxon EIA. With the expansion of the industry, the EIA documents that the Project will require the use of onshore facilities such as shorebases, laydown areas, pipe yards, fabrication/maintenance facilities, warehouses, fuel supply depots, heliport, and waste management facilities to support development drilling, FPSO/SURF installation, commissioning and start-up, production operations, and ultimately, decommissioning.

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• Commercial, decimate, fishing, industry, Sixth

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