THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) have begun a public scoping campaign before the U.S. oil company embarks on an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the gas-to-energy project. The project, which is a manifesto promise of the government, will halve the cost of power and lower emissions.
The EPA had decided that an EIA is necessary to determine the potential impacts of the project before it considers EEPGL’s application for environmental authorisation. The agency has published a project summary which includes technical information to be used to evaluate the application.

EPA’s Head of Environmental Communication, Education, Awareness Programme (ECEAP) Candacie Thompson, during a virtual briefing Thursday, said the requirement for the EIA was placed on public notice on June 27, for 28 days. The public scoping meetings will continue until July 22, with in-person meetings along the coast and a second virtual meeting on July 15.
Members of the public are allowed to make their contributions for considerations in the EIA and Thompson said that public participation is integral to the process. Project Environmental and Regulatory Manager, Erik DeMicco, represented EEPGL during Thursday’s briefing. He presented the project’s summary and components; this included the preliminary list of resources and receptors which will be included in the assessment.

The project includes the construction and operation of a pipeline from the Liza Phases 1 and 2 floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels to an onshore natural gas liquids and natural gas processing plant. The pipeline will transport up to 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to the plant. According to the summary, the plant will, in turn, drop the pressure of the gas, dehydrate the gas, separate propane, butane and pentanes, and treat the gas to the specification needed for the power plant.
The plant is expected to add some 250 MW of power to the national grid, starting late 2024. (DPI)