GEORGETOWN, Guyana – United States oil and gas giant ExxonMobil has given the assurance that all systems are in place to prevent any occurrence of an oil spill off Guyana’s shores.
It also said that if such a spill did occur, it had the resources to respond efficiently.
The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Paria in neighboring Trinidad and Tobago brought Guyana’s state of preparedness for such an eventuality into focus, and questions were raised by stakeholders at an Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) meeting on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the EEPGL Liza Phase 2 project on Monday afternoon.
ExxonMobil’s country manager, Rod Henson said the possibility of an oil spill in Guyana is very low, adding that the company focuses on prevention and has been doing its utmost to prevent any such occurrence wherever it operates.
But he added that ExxonMobil has procedures and processes in place to deal with any emergency response.
“We would be responding in a matter of hours, in an instant like that,” Henson said, replying to questions about the incident in Trinidad where an oil well ruptured in the Gulf of Paria last Thursday, and continues to spew oil and gas.
“At the end of the day…we would enact procedures we already have in place for spill management,” he added, noting that there are capabilities in Guyana for all eventualities.
Henson explained that ExxonMobil, at the end of its “field life” operation, would decommission the well, which would include the isolation of the hydrocarbon zones or oil and gas and carrying out pressure tests.
Monday’s meeting today was the first in a series of consultations spearheaded by the EPA to be held across the country. – CMC
