…following Harmon’s request for urgent meeting
…reduced production, flaring to be discussed
President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge has accepted Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon’s request for an urgent meeting setting the same for Thursday to discuss the Company’s sharp reduction of production and continued flaring due to issues aboard the Liza Destiny.
It is expected that he will be accompanied by senior Members of Parliament including the Shadow Minister for Oil and Gas, David Patterson.
Harmon had written to Routledge on April 15, 2021 stating that he is in receipt of numerous queries from APNU+AFC’s 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.
“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,” Harmon wrote.
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.
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