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Speaker unsure when Parliament will discuss safety of ExxonMobil’s increased oil output
David Paterson, AFC Member of Parliament (MP)
Kaieteur News – As questions continue to arise about whether the floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSO) currently in operation are violating safe operating limits, National Assembly Speaker Manzoor Nadir is unsure when the parliament will resolve the matter.
Alliance for Change (AFC) MP David Patterson submitted questions on July 8, 2024, hoping that ViAFce President Bharrat Jagdeo would answer them; however, these questions are not on the agenda for next Wednesday’s meeting.
In his invited comments, Sherlock Isaacs, secretary to the National Assembly, explained that there is a standard of 21 days between the time a notice on an issue is published and the time the agenda for that issue is set.
Therefore, Isaacs noted that because the issue did not meet the 21-day criteria, it was not placed on the agenda for Wednesday, July 31, 2024. He said it would most likely be raised at the next meeting before Parliament adjourns on August 10. “There are two meetings before Parliament adjourns. July 31 is one of the dates and I believe these issues can be placed on the agenda for the next scheduled meeting, but the final decision is in the hands of the Speaker…” Isaacs said.
However, National Assembly Speaker Manzoor Nader told Kaieteur News he was unsure when the issues would be dealt with. Nader briefly said: “I cannot say for sure that this issue will be resolved before the (parliament) recess.”
The National Assembly is expected to adjourn on August 10.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued permits for Liza Destiny, Liza Unity and Prosperity approving safe operating limits for the floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) of 120,000 b/d (Liza Destiny) and 220,000 b/d (Liza Unity and Prosperity), but the company has been given permission to push oil production beyond the safe operating limits outlined in the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for the three projects currently producing oil.
ExxonMobil Guyana announced that Liza Destiny would produce 160,000 barrels per day, Liza Unity would produce 250,000 barrels per day, and Prosperity would produce 230,000 barrels per day by February 2024. In addition, the company stated that it would “never increase production without a rigorous review and risk assessment, all of which are under review by the government and the EPA”. However, the main concern is that ExxonMobil’s operations could result in oil spills because they are operating beyond approved safety limits.
As a result, Patterson is seeking copies of technical and environmental assessment documents regarding oil production in Guyana.
His question was: “Can the Honorable Vice President provide the National Assembly with copies of documents submitted by ExxonMobil detailing the technical and environmental assessments conducted to justify production exceeding the permit limits previously approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)?”
Furthermore, opposition MPs pointed out that the company reported that “there would never be an increase in production without rigorous scrutiny and risk assessment, all of which is currently under review by the government and the Environmental Protection Agency”.
He therefore asked the Vice President to provide the National Assembly with a copy of the revised Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Bill to approve the increase in daily production.
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