Dear Editor,
I am most elated by Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo’s hullabaloo surrounding the arrival of the capping stack in Guyana, since it finally brings attention to the constant raising of my dreaded concern about the Government’s dangerous tripling of the stack’s deployment time to 9 days from the 3 days decided upon by the Coalition Government and Exxon, which was enshrined into the Payara permit. It also brings further exposure to Jagdeo’s overbearing ignorance about matters he has no right speaking about, and so, would no doubt serve the country well, if he keeps his mouth shut and stop misleading the people.
The capping stack is a very heavy (up to 50 to 100 tons) piece of equipment designed to be placed on top of a well as a lid to stop an occurring blowout when the blowout preventer fails. Its creation came about following the disastrous BP Macondo well blowout which spilled over 5 million barrels of oil for 87 days until a ‘makeshift’ capping stack was invented and applied; but has undergone significant advances in design over the past 14 years since Macondo, for achieving early shutoff of such future blowouts. Therefore, anyone without being an oil expert, would immediately realize that the topmost consideration must be, to get the capping stack to the blowout well in the lowest amount of time possible, for any delay could result in over 60,000 barrels of oil spilled into the ocean, each day, as in the case of the Macondo. In his pitiable cluelessness, Jagdeo irresponsibly and uncaringly calls my expressed concern “quibbling”.
Consequently, in 2020, Dr. Mark Bynoe, then Head of the Guyana Department of Energy and yours truly, engaged Exxon in discussions to ensure the minimum deployment time is attained. Exxon first proposed time of 20 days was immediately rejected, to be followed by our doggedness until we arrived at a deployment time of 3 days with the understanding that this could only be achieved if stationed in south Trinidad. Guyana was our preferred choice, but because of logistical reasons, could not come close to the 3-day time. Nevertheless, we directed Exxon to develop a plan where stationing in Guyana would meet or beat that minimum 3-day time period. The bottom-line is that it was all about the fastest deployment time, no matter from whence it came. Though we were the ones to have first facilitated this equipment, and not Jagdeo, as he has been hot dogging, we found it professionally unnecessary to advertise and create any fuss about it, since was part of our normal duty to the nation.
This 3-day time period was hence, immediately enshrined in the EPA original Payara permit prepared under my watch and signed in September 2020, while I was on leave. Inexplicably, it came to fore that this original permit was secretly modified in June 2023 to triple the deployment time from 3 days to 9 days – a modification with a potential consequence of an additional hundreds of thousands oil being gushed into the ocean in that extra 6-day period.
It is important to know that a capping stack requires meticulously dedicated attention for its maintenance for readiness without notice. However, it is troubling to note that despite all of the VP’s media hype, the stack is reported to be temporarily stored some place on the East Bank of Demerara, with promises to be relocated to the Vreed en Hoop shore base when it is completed. How in heavens name could a critical piece of equipment of this nature be brought into the country and put on show with such fanfare without a sound plan for readiness.
It also begs the following questions: (1) what is the capability of the temporary stationing to meet the needs for proper maintenance for readiness for purpose? (2) when would it be relocated to its permanent facility and what would be that facility’s readiness for purpose? And (3) most importantly, was the maximum 3-day safety deployment sacrificed to have it brought to Guyana to be stationed in a facility owned by friends, families or favorites? This question is not far fetched when considering that the oil production safety limit is also being sacrificed for greed.
Sincerely,
Dr. Vincent Adams
Editor’s Note
While Guyana Standard welcomes a healthy debate on all matters within the oil and gas industry, letter writers are reminded to ensure their views stray not so far from the border of truth. As we remind of this standard, there are a few facts which we believe are pertinent for any reader of this letter by the undersigned to bear in mind:
1. The Payara permit never included a clause for a capping stack to be staged in-country. This only became a requirement of Exxon’s Yellowtail permit.
2. The current Payara permit states that Exxon and its partners must maintain a subscription to a capping stack outside of Guyana and be ready to deploy same within nine days “OR LESS.”
3. The Environmental Protection Agency is armed with a study which categorically states that a capping stack, even under the BEST conditions, can only be brought into Guyana within five days. The deployment time by that study was listed as nine days, hence the clause in the existing permit.
4. Guyana Standard has been reliably informed by authorities that deploying a capping stack that is not staged in-country within three days is an impossibility.
5. With a capping stack now staged at GYSBI, it can be deployed IMMEDIATELY to an oil spill event.
6. Notably, the subject minister has the power to have the capping stack serve not just Exxon’s blocks, but any oil spill event.
As readers consider the foregoing, we wish to thank Dr. Adams for this contribution to our letter column and encourage other stakeholders to continue the constructive discourse regarding our nation’s development.
