Harmon requests urgent meeting with ExxonMobil Guyana President

…says his party, which represents half the population, is concerned about reduced production, flaring

Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon has requested an urgent meeting with President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge to discuss the Company’s sharp reduction of production and continued flaring due to past and current issues aboard the Liza Destiny.

“I am in receipt of numerous queries from our constituents, civil society and concerned citizens expressing their worry that EEPGL’s performance since inception, appears to be far below expectations and is eroding their confidence in a safe and environmentally sound operation. Similar queries have been received by my colleague Members of Parliament and my office,” Harmon wrote in a letter to Routledge on April 15, 2021.

“I, therefore, seek an urgent meeting with you and your executive team at the earliest mutually convenient opportunity to be briefed on matters to include this recent development, the root cause(s) of equipment failures resulting in excessive flaring and reduced production, your plan with schedule for permanently addressing these root cause(s), and the short and long term economic and environmental implications for all of Guyana.”

On Tuesday, April 13, ExxonMobil Guyana reported that the Liza Destiny FPSO had encountered an additional problem with its discharge silencer just as the Company was hoping to complete reinstallation of its flash gas compressor which became faulty in January, leading to above level flaring.

With the new challenge, the Company has reduced production sharply from 120,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) to 30,000 bpd. Flaring is ongoing at between 4 to 5 million cubic feet a day (mcfd). There still is no timeline yet for when the situation can be rectified.

The Company explained in a statement: “As we conducted the final testing phase of the reinstalled flash gas compressor and other components of the system on the Liza Destiny FPSO, we encountered an additional problem with the discharge silencer. A team from SBM Offshore, MAN Energy Solutions and ExxonMobil are on site to assess repairs, with support from engineering experts in Europe and the USA. We have reduced production to a minimum level that mitigates formation of hydrates in subsea systems, maintains gas injection and fuel gas to the power generators, and minimizes flare.”

The Company admitted that it is “extremely disappointed by the design issues and continued underperformance of this unit” and that the current “performance is below ExxonMobil’s global expectations for reliability”.

In his letter, the Opposition Leader reiterated these concerns. However, he said that as a party that represents almost half of the Guyanese population in the National Assembly, the APNU+AFC Opposition requests information about the situation for efforts towards accountability on the Company’s part.

He proposed to be accompanied by senior Members of Parliament including the Shadow Minister for Oil and Gas, David Patterson.

Since the new issues arose, ExxonMobil Guyana has informed the relevant government agencies.