“Clearly, it is unacceptable,” says Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on ExxonMobil continued flaring as a result of what the company has said is a damaged compressor on the Liza Destiny.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Jagdeo said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is unable to impose fines. He pointed out that it was the EPA who granted the US oil-giant to flare at a total of 14 billion cubic feet of gas under the Liza permit.
The VP added that ExxonMobil has stated that it has flared 12 billion cubic feet thus far. As a result, Jagdeo said with the current rate of flaring, ExxonMobil should exhaust the 14 billion cubic feet by the end of April.
Once the agreement comes to an end, Jagdeo said that the new permit would have similar features to the Payara permit, which has the option for fines.
Additionally, the Vice President said that the Government is exploring an option of remotely monitoring the flaring and other activities done by ExxonMobil.
Earlier this month, ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), announced that there was a technical issue at the Liza Phase One producing operation where a seal on the gas compressor on the Liza Destiny Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
As a result of the compressor, ExxonMobil said that it had to temporarily increase flaring above pilot levels in order to maintain safe operations.
However, on Monday, the oil-giant said that it had reduced production to keep flaring at a minimum.