–AG

DANUTA Radzik, labelled an “obstructionist” by Attorney-General (AG) Anil Nandlall, SC, has been unsuccessful in her second legal attempt to delay the gas-to-energy project.
In a recent statement, the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) disclosed that Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall of the Demerara High Court dismissed the action on Friday.

The EAB said the first action was filed on May 22, 2023, and challenged its decision to uphold the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s waiver of the requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment for the gas-to-shore project. It said that that action was subsequently dismissed, on September 6, 2023, as it was “instituted against the wrong parties”, and Radzik was ordered to pay costs.

Despite the initial dismissal, the EAB stated that Radzik initiated a second legal action on November 23, 2023, contesting the same decision.

According to the Board, that claim was dismissed on Friday, and Radzik was ordered to pay $200,000 costs to the EAB on or before June 3. The judge found that there was inordinate delay, and that the rights of third parties would be affected, the EAB noted.

Together with CNOOC and Hess, its co-venture partners in the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil (Guyana) is working with the government to advance the gas-to-energy project.

Radzik had approached the court with a request to cancel the permit issued to the US oil giant for the pipeline component of the project. She had contended that the EPA had authorised the pipeline, even though there was no proof that the developer, ExxonMobil (Guyana), owned the land through which the pipeline has to pass, a move she claimed was in violation of the Environmental Protection Act.

In his defence affidavit, the project’s head, Winston Brassington, had stated that the government had granted the company permission to carry out works related to the project, which aims to reduce electricity costs.

The gas-to-energy project will see a 200 kilometres (km) 12-inch diameter pipeline channelling natural gas from the Liza Phase One and Liza Phase Two Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessels to a power plant and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility that will be built in Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

That pipeline will be landing on the West Coast Demerara (WCD) shore, and will continue approximately 25 km to the NGL and power-plant facilities.

It has an estimated total cost of US$1.8 billion, and is cost-recoverable. The power plant and NGL facilities will be funded by the government.

The conversion of natural gas from ExxonMobil’s offshore operations to electricity is a key component of the government’s objective to lower energy costs by at least 50 per cent through an energy mix which incorporates gas, solar, wind, and hydropower.

The Gas-to-Energy project is expected to be up and running by the end of October 2024 and has a 25-year lifespan.