-Dr Jagdeo discloses; says gov’t agencies present offshore

WITH Guyana well-positioned as a fast-emerging player in the oil and gas industry, strong emphasis continues to be placed on safety, monitoring and defending national interests, according to Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.

During a recent news conference, Dr Jagdeo said that the ExxonMobil shares its dashboard where there is real-time monitoring of what is going on offshore.

The Vice-President made these remarks in response to critics saying that the government is not monitoring what is happening.

“They already have that up and running onshore. So, we get to see this screen and it updates every ten minutes. And you have some of the key parameters that we get to see like production data, the tank inventories, the sea water gas, how much gas is produced, the downtime power generation, safety health and environment flare management…

“All of these are in a dashboard that we, that they monitor…three agencies now in the government have access to this dashboard [Ministry of] Natural Resources, EPA and GGMC. So, we see this, it’s not as though we’re not aware of what’s going on offshore,” the Vice-President stated.

He further disclosed that both the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) have a presence on the vessel.

He said: “They [GRA and GNBS] have reps offshore to look at different things like we calibrate the meters and all of these issues.”

Furthermore, by 2027, ExxonMobil Guyana is poised to surpass the milestone of producing 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), a significant achievement that promises to not only boost the company’s revenue but bring substantial benefits to the people of Guyana.

This is according to Vice President and Business Service Manager of ExxonMobil Guyana, Phillip Rietema, as he discussed the oil giant’s 2023 financial statement on this week’s episode of the Energy Perspective Podcast, which is produced by the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo.

June 2024, marked 25 years since ExxonMobil has been in Guyana.

ExxonMobil is the operator of the offshore 6.6 million-acre Stabroek Block.

Along with its partners Hess Guyana Exploration and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana, a consortium was formed to find and exploit petroleum from the area.

ExxonMobil Guyana holds a 45 per cent stake, followed by Hess Guyana Exploration with 30 per cent and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana with 25 per cent.

He also stated that the corporation has three other development projects—Yellowtail, Uaru and Whiptail—set to begin production in 2025, 2026, and 2027, respectively.

Each project is estimated to generate 250,000 barrels per day, bringing the total offshore oil output in Guyana to more than 1.3 million barrels per day.

Since the first discovery in 2015, the company has developed three projects—Liza 1, Liza 2 and Payara—producing over 600,000 barrels a day. The prolific Stabroek Block has solidified Guyana’s position as a major player in the global oil industry and the fastest-growing economy in the world.