EXXONMOBIL Guyana has submitted an application to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking approval to flare beyond pilot levels, which is equivalent to 15 million cubic feet per day. This is according to a statement issued by the company on Wednesday. ExxonMobil said that the request was made in an effort to legitimately facilitate continued testing of a discharge silencer- a new piece of equipment for the Liza Destiny floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
The oil giant had previously sought permission to flare, due to some issues with its gas compressor system.
“The upgraded and repaired discharge silencer of the third stage flash-gas compressor and a new venturi were safely installed on the Liza Destiny and the first phase of testing was successfully completed earlier this week,” ExxonMobil related.

The compressor was damaged in January, and resulted in the company having to temporarily increase gas flaring to above pilot levels in order to maintain safe operations.
The faulty contraption was subsequently removed and sent to Germany for immediate repairs. The repaired and upgraded components of the flash-gas compression system have been safely re-installed, with a comprehensive three-phase testing programme undertaken to ensure full safety.
The company said that the flash-gas compression system was started up on June 19 for the first testing phase and was shut down on June 28 in order to remove temporary probes and instrumentation.

“During the first testing phase, the company said that it was able to reduce the flare to pilot level, and that initial test results indicate improvements in pulsation dampening performance,” ExxonMobil said, adding that the second phase of testing for the newly-installed equipment is slated to begin on July 4.
“Upon successful completion, we expect the system to continue into normal operation,” the company’s spokesperson, Janelle Persaud, related.
She said that in an effort to ensure ExxonMobil Guyana remains in compliance with its environmental permit, the company has applied to the EPA for approval to flare above the pilot level for the extended period of testing.

Persaud reiterated that the company is expecting the arrival of a new, redesigned flash-gas compressor during the fourth quarter of this year. The piece of equipment is currently being manufactured overseas.
Initially, as a result of the damaged discharge silencer, production at the Liza Destiny was reduced significantly, moving from 120,000 to 30,000 barrels per day, a decrease of 90,000 barrels. But, amid the ongoing repairs, the company began to ramp-up production, which has since moved from 30,000 barrels of oil per day to between 100,000 and 110,000 barrels per day, at a flare level of no more than 15 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (Mscfd).

A response to the recently submitted application will determine whether the company will be granted approvals to flare beyond the aforementioned levels.
The EPA had said that ExxonMobil, as a result of its flaring activity, was projected to exceed the 14 Billion Standard Cubic Feet (Bcf) of gas estimated by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be flared for the project, on May 13, 2021.
The environmental permit for the Liza Phase One development was since recalled and modified to include specific regulatory requirements for flaring of associated gas offshore Guyana, in accordance with the EPA’s legislation.

On May 13, 2021, the modified permit was issued to EEPGL, ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, having been signed by both the company and the EPA.
It includes revised terms and conditions relating to emissions reporting requirements, technical considerations for flaring, timelines for flaring events and an obligation on the company to pay for the emission of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) as a result of flaring in excess of these timelines.
Based on the terms of the new permit, as calculated by the EPA, EEPGL will have to pay US$30 per tonne of CO2e.