In light of the damning revelations yesterday that ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) would be increasing its levels of flaring in the Stabroek Block, Environmentalist, Ms. Annette Arjoon-Martins, has categorically stated that the oil titan must be held accountable for polluting the atmosphere.
In an invited comment, the staunch advocate for the protection of the environment, was keen to note that she is not surprised by the recent revelation since photos that are in her possession, show that flaring which involves the burning of gas, has happened for almost the entire month of January 2021.
Expounding further, she said, “When I posted one of the flaring (photos) on January 13, 2021, Exxon’s PR in their usual doublespeak, owned up to two hours of flaring on that day due to ‘an unexpected temporary outage on the vessel which was returned to normal operations less than two hours later.’ This was an ominous sign because they did not share which piece of equipment malfunctioned.” Arjoon-Martins said she suspected at that time that it was the faulty gas compressor.
Further to this, the President of the Guyana Marine Conservation Society pointed to Article 3.13 in the Liza Phase One environmental permit which clearly states “efforts should be made to prevent equipment breakdowns and plant upsets which could result in flaring and provisions should be made for equipment sparing and plant turn-down protocols where practical.”
That after one entire year of having a malfunctioning gas compressor which has caused the flaring of over 14 billion cubic feet of gas to the value of US$26M, the company has not seen it fit to replace the equipment, speaks volumes as to Exxon’s lack of concern for the environment, the concerned Guyanese expressed.
She found it alarming as well that Exxon is being allowed to behave in such a manner especially in a time of a climate emergency. Unreservedly, Arjoon-Martins said Exxon needs to be held accountable and be made to pay for its environmental pollution.
Following the disclosure by ExxonMobil about its intentions to increase its flaring levels, not a single member of the opposition or government has uttered a word of condemnation.
More importantly, the regulator of the sector, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not issued a word on the consequences the oil titan is expected to face for the breach of its permit.
