–Routledge says company recorded an ‘outstanding’ 2021

LOCAL participation in ExxonMobil’s onshore and offshore operations increased by 1,000 persons this year, taking the total number of people serving the company’s activities to 3,270.

In an overview of 2021, the oil giant said that, in addition to that, ExxonMobil Guyana and its prime contractors have also spent more than US$540 million with over 800 unique Guyanese vendors.

The company said that the launch of the $20 billion Greater Guyana Initiative in February 2021 was another tangible expression of its commitment to bringing value to lives of Guyanese.

This initiative is a 10-year pledge by the Stabroek Block co-venturers to support capacity building.

Work has been ongoing with key Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and the University of Guyana, while several new projects have been initiated and will be announced in the coming weeks.

President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, was quoted in a statement as saying: “It is very important to us that the people of Guyana benefit from our operations, not just from the revenues that are generated to the government but also directly through the implementation of the projects. We expect, over the coming years, for more and more benefits to reach more people.”

Last Thursday, the government tabled a Local Content Bill in the National Assembly; that laid out, among other things, 40 services that oil companies and sub-contractors must procure from Guyanese companies and Guyanese nationals by the end of 2022.

For instance, by the end of the upcoming year, Guyanese should provide 90 per cent of office space rental and accommodation services, 90 per cent for janitorial, laundry, catering services; 95 per cent pest control services; 25 per cent medical services; 20 per cent aviation and support services and 75 per cent local food supply. These are just a few of the services highlighted in the schedule.

“We’re saying by the end of 2022, 75 per cent of your food items should be purchased locally so that the farmers at Black Bush Polder, their food can go on the floating production storage and offloading vessel. Our provisions and our meat can make it out there on the FPSO.

“That is creating opportunities for poultry, cash crop farmers – everyone in the agriculture sector, as well as the others to benefit from the oil and gas sector,” the Natural Resources Minister said.

This Bill which looks to give Guyanese first preference and promote knowledge sharing in the oil and gas sector is still to be debated in the National Assembly. The government has committed to ensuring that it is passed and made into law before 2022.

ExxonMobil has since said that there is ongoing work to ensure that Guyanese are continually benefitting from the production of the country’s oil and gas resources. To this effect, significant efforts have been made to hire the necessary skills, utilise suppliers and ensure that the capabilities are developed to support the needs of both the onshore and offshore components of the industry.

As it is, there are six drill ships and now two floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana which are supported by more than 1,000 persons at any given time.

Regarding to the safety of every worker attached to ExxonMobil’s operations, the company said that there were hundreds of days across offshore operations without a recordable safety incident.

“The crew onboard the Liza Destiny FPSO for instance has reached more than 800 days without a recordable incident,” Routledge said, adding: “It is a value for us that people are looked after and that the workplace is safe. We take care of one another.”

OUTSTANDING YEAR
Further, the ExxonMobil Guyana President classified 2021 as an outstanding year for the company, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have been able to overcome operational issues and deliver on volume targets including five cargos to the Government of Guyana. We’ve also continued our wonderful exploration success. Again, people tend to forget that this is a frontier exploration acreage and we shouldn’t expect the kind of success we’ve seen,” Routledge related.

Earlier challenges with the flash gas compressor on the Liza Destiny were dealt with, resulting in steady, continually safe operations on the vessel.  Production on the Liza Destiny remains above 120,000 barrels per day, while the flare is maintained at regulatory required levels.

“At ExxonMobil Guyana, our teams strive for continuous improvement in our operations and environmental performance. In early 2022, we expect to install a new redesigned flash gas compressor on the Liza Destiny, and we will commission the gas injection system on the Liza Unity, utilising lessons learned from our first project,” Routledge said.

Soon enough, the gas produced offshore will be absorbed by the country through the Gas-to-Energy project which is on the cards.
“In 2022, as the gas to energy project moves forward, we anticipate that there will be a lot more activities in Region Three. So it won’t be just Georgetown, it will be reaching other parts of the country as well,” Routledge related.

He added: “I think the most significant achievement of 2021 is that the entire business was able to move forward and essentially meet all of our commitments, which, in the face of the pandemic and all the other challenges we’ve seen in the last year, is really outstanding.

“It speaks to the resilience and perseverance of everyone who is involved in this industry including the private sector, community partners and the government of Guyana.”

ExxonMobil Guyana has recorded multiple discoveries in the Stabroek Block in 2021, which increased the recoverable resource estimate to approximately 10 billion oil equivalent barrels.