Civil society activists, Elizabeth Deane-Hughes and Vanda Radzik have moved to the courts to overturn the decision of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to grant a permit to ExxonMobil affiliate and Stabroek Block operator, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd. (Esso) for the gas-to-shore project.
According to Deane-Hughes, “We wrote to the EPA. We told them the law. We asked them to act. They did nothing. We have no choice but to go to court now to uphold the rule of law, protect Guyanese citizens and put a stop to yet another unlawful situation.”
Deane-Hughes and Radzik claim that the EPA breached Regulation 17(2) of the Environmental Protection (Authorisation) Regulations which states that an application for environmental authorisation must contain “proof that the applicant either owns the facility or has a lease or other agreement with the landowner or occupier to enable the applicant to conduct the activity on the facility or has the legal right of way to conduct the activity without the consent of the landowner or occupier.”
They said EEPGL’s application, dated June 24, 2021, contains no proof of ownership, no lease and no evidence of any arrangement with the landowner as required by the regulation. Instead of this being satisfied, they said the government has sought to acquire land compulsorily from Guyanese citizens in order to allow Esso to put in a pipeline.
According to Ms Radzik, “Guyanese citizens are losing their lands and livelihoods for a pipeline to nowhere. The government is on the side of big oil to the detriment of the ordinary people. More people need to step up and protect our fragile democracy, our economy and our future.”
Deane Hughes and Radzik have also pointed out the dangers of fossil gas in their written objections to the EPA concerning the proposed gas plant and the entire gas to shore proposal. They noted for example that scientific studies have clearly demonstrated that ‘natural’ gas (more accurately termed ‘fossil’ gas) is dangerous to humans and the environment.
The applicants therefore asked for administrative relief under the Judicial Review Act. They pointed out that judicial review deals with unlawful acts by public authorities and is a matter of public importance. Both parties said they hope for a decision “as soon as possible” as required by the time limit for Judicial Decisions Act Cap 3.13.
The attorneys-at-Law for Deane-Hughes and Radzik are Melinda Janki, Abiola Wong-Inniss and Joel Ross.
Guyana Standard previously reported that the gas-to-energy project is expected to be the most transformative initiative in the country’s history. It will provide for the transportation of natural gas from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block to the Wales Development Zone, where the onshore plants are to be built.
US-based partnership CH4/Lindsayca won the contract to construct the 300 megawatts (MW) combined cycle power plant and natural gas liquids (NGL) facility. It is doing so at a cost of US$898 million.
As for the construction of the pipeline for which Exxon is responsible, this is expected to cost upward of US$1.3 billion. The current estimate for the project is therefore expected to be approximately US$2.2 billion.
Engineers India Limited will supervise the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of the onshore plant facility.
