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NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government is preparing to pass long-awaited legislation this fall that will establish the framework for registered land and create a...

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ExxonM yet to decide how to handle produced water in 7th project Jul 23, 2024 News …says will not discharge water unless it meets requirement of environmental permit Kaieteur News – Global Projects Cost Engineering Manager for Exxon Guyana Rebecca Cvikota during the opening of the public consultations for Exxon’s seventh project Hammerhead said that they would not be committing to any specific ways in which they will be handling the produced water. Global Projects Cost Engineering Manager for Exxon Guyana Rebecca Cvikota The official was asked by this publication if the company had plans to reinject the produced water from the project and if not can she say the effect it can have on rising sea levels if not reinjected. She said that, “Produced water has been a topic we have been heavily involved in working very closely with the EPA and MNR to do studies on and assess and look at. So for Hammerhead we are still in the early phases I wouldn’t commit to any specific ways in which we are going to handle the produced water. What I will say now is the studies we are doing are informing those types of decisions and it is international practice to discharge produced water offshore.” Cvikota explained that the water is treated and they will not be discharging any water unless it meets the requirement of the environmental permit and is treated sufficiently. “That is part of our practices that’s one of the things that we are monitoring very closely to ensure that we have safe operations,” she added. Produced water is a liquid that is extracted during oil production activities. It contains dissolved mineral salts, or may be mixed with organic compounds such as acids, waxes, and mineral oils. It may also be mixed with inorganic metals and byproducts or with trace amounts of heavy metals and naturally-occurring radioactive materials, the US Department of Energy said in a research paper. It is also usually very high in temperature, and can be deadly to marine organisms. Due to its toxicity, this substance is best re-injected into the wells, though this may be a costly exercise. Exxon has sounded the warning before, in six EIAs for its previously sanctioned projects, of the dangers associated with the dumping of produced water into the ocean. Produced water discharges from each of the projects vary. For instance, the sixth project – Whiptail – which will produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) will also produce 200,000 barrels of produced water daily which will be dumped into the ocean. On the other hand, the fifth project Uaru which is being designed to produce 250,000 bpd will see the discharge or 300,000 bpd of produced water.  Prior to the dumping of produced water offshore, it is treated on the FPSOs to ensure it aligns with the industry standards, as required by the EPA.  The Permits granted to Exxon by the regulator requires the operator to treat the substance to ensure “oil content specification of produced water to be discharged does not exceed 42 mg/l on a daily basis or 29 mg/l on a monthly average”. Dr. Ulric Trotz during an interview with Kaieteur News earlier this year stressed the need for stringent monitoring of these discharges by the EPA.  He said, “Any sort of contamination in a pristine marine environment that provides so much to our livelihoods, our fisher folk, so much to our own nutritional diet with our dependence on marine sources for protein, for an environment that supports marine life, you think about turtle nesting facilities on Shell Beach- anything that disturbs that environment is not in our interest.” Exxon’s admission ExxonMobil acknowledged that discharges from the seventh project can potentially affect the quality of water and harm marine species and wildlife. This information is contained in the Project Summary submitted by Exxon to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The regulator has since instructed the company to conduct a thorough Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to study the likely damage that can be done to the environment by the project. This study will also highlight measures to mitigate those harmful impacts. According to the Project Summary seen by this newspaper, “The Project could have localised impacts to marine water quality in the project development area from discharge of drill cuttings and from routine operational and hydro-testing discharges. The Project could potentially impact marine water quality in the Project area of interest (AOI) as a result of non-routine, unplanned events (e.g., spill or release).” Drill cuttings and drill fluid discharges during the drilling of development wells; effluent discharges from cooling water and produced water; hydro-testing discharges and non-routine, unplanned events such as a spill can result in the release of dangerous substances that can affect marine life. Exxon said, “Increased total suspended solids concentrations, chemical concentrations, or temperature in water column has a potential to affect marine water quality and marine habitat quality and affect wildlife.” Fishing industry Meanwhile, on the vexed issue of the impacts of the project on the fishing industry, Projects Environmental and Regulatory Manager for ExxonMobil Guyana Mariya Skocik when asked about this explained that over the years they “have done a number of studies on fisheries in particular since 2018. Over like six years we visited a number of fishing landing sites and conducted several cycles of the study. What we are seeing is consistent with our prior environmental impact assessment.” Furthermore she said: “during the presentation we mentioned that facilities are approximately 200 kilometers offshore, so the minor impacts that are possible are limited to that geographic location. So we have not seen any increase in impacts near shore in our studies.” She also noted that if fisherfolk livelihoods are affected “there is an impact there would be a mechanism in place to submit those grievances and a process to follow through.”  Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kemraj Parsram had revealed that the operator of the oil rich Stabroek Block has been feeding the regulator with information relative to the oil concentration in the treated produced  water being discharged daily. Parsram while appearing as a guest on the Energy Perspectives Podcast shared the progress made by the agency over the past three years, especially in its oversight of the burgeoning petroleum industry. Parsram noted that the EPA launched a third water quality sensor late December 2023 to monitor the surface water. According to him, “That is within our key surface  waters and offshore as well. The plan is to put these sensors that measure the water quality or measure pollutants in water, in the surface water, in our rivers and we can actually at our offices or on our mobile phones we can actually see real time, what is the quality of those parameters – for example turbidity, temperature, ph, total dissolved solids- these are key parameters that indicate the health of our  waters.” This system, he said, was funded by the Government of Guyana (GoG) through budgetary allocations to the agency.  Presently, the sensors are located at Bartica, the Demerara River and at Saxacalli; another sensor is to be placed at the Kaieteur National Park or at the Iwokrama Centre.  Parsram said the deployment of the sensors will be expanded in the future. Related Similar Articles

Woman dies after speeding car crashes into crane Jul 23, 2024 News The crashed motorcar that Sukdeo and Ali were in Kaieteur News – An eighteen-year-old woman was killed in an accident on the Kiltearn Public Road in Corentyne early Monday morning when the driver of the car she was in lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a crane that was parked on the road. Dead: Bibi Aleah Ali Dead is Bibi Aleah Ali. According to police reports, the accident took place around 02:10hrs. The motorcar licensed under registration number PAF 6330 was driven by 24 year old Niraz Sukdeo, a medical technologist from Lancaster Village. Ali, Sukdeo’s wife was also a medical technologist. Initial investigations revealed that the car was traveling northbound at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control of the vehicle. The car then collided with a crane parked on the parapet along the western side of the road. As a result the vehicle ended up in a canal on the eastern side. The impact of the collision resulted in Ali being ejected from the vehicle and landing in the canal. Both Sukdeo and his wife sustained injuries and were rushed to the Anamayah Memorial Hospital and Skeldon Public Hospital respectively. Bibi Aleah Ali was pronounced dead on arrival at the Skeldon Public Hospital, while Sukdeo was admitted to the Anamayah Memorial Hospital in critical condition, suffering from multiple injuries. Investigations into the tragic incident are ongoing. Related Similar Articles

Lula “scared” by Maduro rhetoric, urges respect for Venezuela election Jul 23, 2024 News BRASILIA, July 22 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday urged Venezuela’s government to respect the result of next Sunday’s presidential election, saying he was “scared” by incumbent president Nicolas Maduro’s threat of a bloodbath if he loses. The vote pits Maduro against opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. “I have told Maduro that the only chance for Venezuela to return to normality is to have a widely respected electoral process,” Lula told international news agencies. “I was scared by Maduro’s remarks that Venezuela could face bloodshed if he loses,” Lula said. “Maduro needs to learn that when you win, you stay; when you lose, you leave.” Lula said Brazil will send two members of its electoral justice service to observe the election, as well as his top foreign policy advisor, former foreign minister Celso Amorim. “I will see if the lower house of Congress and the Senate can also send people to follow the election,” he added. Related Similar Articles

Seven years later Reg. 7 RDC yet to recover $2.3M in overpayment to contractors – PAC hears Jul 23, 2024 News Officials of the Regional Democratic Council of Region Seven during their appearance at the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Monday Kaieteur News – Seven years later, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Seven is still to recover approximately $2.329 million in overpayments made to contractors for several projects done in the region. This revelation was made during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament which was held on Monday. PAC members on Monday afternoon were examining records relating to the Regional Administration which is documented in the Auditor’s General 2019 Report. According to the report, the Regional Administration did not recover overpayments totalling $2.387M made in the years 2017 and 2018. The report detailed that three 2017 projects: Maintenance of Duplex Living Quarter at Mongrippa Hill (balance outstanding $1.441million); Maintenance of Shed in Beach View Nursery (balance outstanding $58,000); Maintenance of Bartica Secondary School (balance outstanding $564,000); and a 2018 project Maintenance to Doctor’s accommodation at the Regional Health Office, Bartica (balance outstanding $324,000), there were overpayments outstanding. Highlighting these findings yesterday was PAC member and Opposition MP, Ganesh Mahipaul who asked the REO if the money has since been refunded to the region. Responding to the question, the current Regional Executive Officer (REO), Kerwin Ward told the PAC, “the maintenance of duplex living quarter at Mongrippa Hill, we haven’t recovered anything from it but finally we managed to make contact with the contractor who resides somewhere in Linden now, we made contact and he promised to come in to have a discussion on the way forward.” he continued: “the maintenance of the shed at Beach View Nursery, the $58,000 was refunded I have a copy of the receipt on me here. The maintenance of Bartica Secondary School (the) $564,000, we haven’t gotten any refund on that as yet but we engaged the contract who promised to do some refunds.” He further revealed that as it relates to the maintenance of doctor’s accommodation at the Regional Health Office where $324,000 is outstanding, the contractor has passed away. Kaieteur News learned that the contractor that was executing works on the duplex quarter was FS Contracting; contractor for the Bartica School was Ward’s Construction, while the contractor for the Regional Health Office was Chase Contracting, according to the REO. With it being over five years with money still outstanding, PAC member and Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill asked the REO when last he wrote to the contractors about making good on their overpayment. “The last time we wrote is September 2023,” the REO responded.  In his follow up, Edghill further asked, “based upon your understanding when there is an overpayment that is outstanding for a long time that there very well is a request for a write off, how do you deal with that?” The REO yesterday informed the Committee that he is in process of engaging the Finance Secretary, Sukrishnalall Pasha, pertaining to the project where the contractor is now deceased “to get his guidance on the way forward to get this written off.” The REO also informed the Committee that none of the contractors that he named has any current contract with the region. PAC member Gail Teixeira during the meeting had said that one of the contractors that was named is still getting contracts in the country, and asked the REO if they have since alerted the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) on delinquent contractors they have dealt with. “And secondly when they do bid in your region does the tender board know of their past of what they have done and not done and therefore in their bid document they supposed to put in whether they have outstanding works with different agencies including what maybe cases in court…” Teixeira reasoned. In his response, Ward said that they do check the background of the contractors and “in terms of informing the national tender board, I know it has never happened before but we have put in place now for any contractors who default, we duly inform the NPTAB.” Related Similar Articles