The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacks the capacity to effectively evaluate the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that Esso Exploration and Petroleum Guyana Limited (EEPGL) conducted for the Liza Phase Two Development Project.
In recognition of EPA’s inadequacies, a $40M contract was awarded to Ramboll US Corporation to review Esso’s EIA. At today’s post-Cabinet press briefing, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, said that Ramboll US Corporation is an international forum which has tremendous experience. Based on several applications which have been made, Harmon said that the EPA recognized that Ramboll was the best firm suited for the work which had to be done.
The Cabinet Secretary also said that Guyana would not be paying for the review. He said that it is being handled by ExxonMobil.
The media asked Harmon if the company would be able to recover the money, he answered in the negative.
While Harmon gave the assurance that the money will not be recovered, the Guyana-ExxonMobil contract does not state that such fees cannot be recovered.
An EIA is a report or statement which presents the effects that a proposed project would have on the environment.
