…calls for inquiry into oil sector here

PEOPLES Progressive Party Member of Parliament, Cornel Damon on Tuesday accused US oil giant, ExxonMobil of being dishonest and called for an inquiry into the oil sector here.
In a rabid presentation during his budget debate presentation, Damon, who was reading from a prepared speech and being egged on by his colleagues charged that: “We are dealing with a company—EXXONMOBIL that is not honest…”

Though Minister of Citizenship Winston heckled him for his claim and reminded him that it was the PPP that had entered into contract with Exxon in 1999, Damon continued. During his frenzied speech, Damon painted a dark picture of the American oil giant, also saying that the company has lied to the American people regarding its environmental record. An agitated Damon also noted that many countries around the world are being “ripped-off” by the major oil companies.

Only on Monday ExxonMobil announced that it has made its 10th discovery offshore Guyana and increased its estimate of the discovered recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block to more than five billion oil-equivalent barrels. The resource estimate, up from the previous estimate of more than four billion oil-equivalent barrels, is a result of further evaluation of previous discoveries and includes a new discovery at the Pluma-1 well, the company said in a statement.

“The discovery of a resource base of more than five billion oil-equivalent barrels in less than four years is a testament of our technical expertise and rigorous evaluation and pursuit of high-potential, high-risk opportunities in this frontier area,” said Neil Chapman, ExxonMobil senior vice-president. “We will continue to apply what we’ve learned to identify additional exploration prospects and potential future discoveries that will deliver significant value to Guyanese people, our partners and shareholders.”

The Pluma-1 well encountered approximately 121 feet (37 metres) of high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoir. Pluma-1 reached a depth of 16,447 feet (5,013 metres) in 3,340 feet (1,018 metres) of water. The Noble Tom Madden drillship began drilling on November 1. The well is located approximately 17 miles (27 kilometres) south of the Turbot-1 well. The Noble Tom Madden will next drill the Tilapia-1 prospect located 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometres) west of the Longtail-1 well.

“Together with the government and people of Guyana, we are continuing to grow the value of the Stabroek Block for Guyana, our partners and ExxonMobil with successful exploration investments,” said Steve Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company. “Our ongoing work will evaluate development options in the southeastern portion of the block, potentially combining Pluma with prior Turbot and Longtail discoveries into a major new development area.”

The Liza Phase One development is expected to begin producing up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day by early 2020, utilising the Liza Destiny floating storage, production and offloading vessel (FPSO). As previously announced, Liza Phase Two is expected to start up by mid-2022. Pending government and regulatory approvals, Liza Phase Two project sanction is expected in early 2019 and will use a second FPSO designed to produce up to 220,000 barrels per day.

Sanctioning of a third development, Payara, is also expected in 2019 with start up as early as 2023. The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). ExxonMobil’s affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, is the operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 per cent interest.