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ExxonMobil to host 10 days of public meetings on 7th oil project Jul 19, 2024 News – as Amerindians, other Guyanese raise concerns over limited time, lack of information Kaieteur News – Previously accused of conducting farcical engagements with the public, ExxonMobil is again set to host another round of consultations, commencing next week, on its seventh proposed deepwater project, Hammerhead. In a notice appearing in Kaieteur News’ Thursday edition, the operator of the oil rich Stabroek Block informed that the public scoping meetings are geared towards providing information to the public on the project. On July 22, Exxon will commence its public engagements with residents of Region Three at the Leonora Technical Institute, West Coast Demerara from 10am. Following criticisms from its last round of public scoping sessions, Exxon increased the number of meetings to be held in Region Four. Three meetings are scheduled for the country’s most populated region- one at the Umana Yana, Georgetown, another at the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara and another at the New Diamond/Grove Primary School, East Bank Demerara. A total of 10 meetings will be held during the 10-day consultation period. Notably, the oil company is also set to engage the hinterland region, with two meetings scheduled for Region One. Previously, Toshao of the Warapoka Village, Jaremy Boyal raised concerns over the manner in which Indigenous communities are engaged on oil and gas activities. He said there has been a heavy focus on money and benefits of the sector, rather than educating the communities on the potential dangers they are exposed to as a result of the offshore activities. At a number of public consultations held in the past by ExxonMobil, the Toshao said he enquired about the Shell Beach protected area; however, his question has not been addressed.  Oil spill modeling shows that this area can be affected by an oil spill; however, the Toshao said, “That has not been on the agenda…many times, sometimes we would try to have what would be the effect, how are we playing a role if there is gonna be one, but again that is not something that we as villages are aware of.” According to him, “We just hear one side of the story that there is so much production, that there is so much millions that we can earn in the next five, 10, 15, 20 years and the rate of development plus we are one of the fastest growing economies in the world.” Even on the coast, Exxon has faced criticisms for failing to address critical issues on its operations. During public consultations on the sixth project- Whiptail- in February last year, several questions asked were left unanswered. Importantly, a critical subject raised during the meeting at Umana Yana was insurance for the sixth project. The Projects Manager for ExxonMobil Guyana, Anthony Jackson said he was not able to give a response but knows that the company will not leave if there is an oil spill incident. Meanwhile, the moderator of one of the sessions, Alex Graham had directed officials from the company not to respond to questions raised by Kaieteur News, since he found it irrelevant to the specific project. Those questions pertained to the options for use of excess gas from the project and the insurance policy in place for oil spills. At another session, held in Leonora, this newspaper’s senior journalist was prevented from interrogating ExxonMobil officials on a series of issues since she challenged them on misleading the public on the impacts of the project. The lynching of hardcore questions was evident again at the Mahaicony Training Institute when KN Publisher, Glenn Lall was denied a response to his question on cumulative project impacts. The 7th project Hanmerhead is expected to add 120,000 to 180,000 barrels of oil per day production capacity. The Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel will be capable of storing approximately 1.4 to 2 million barrels of oil. Third-party oil tankers will be scheduled to offload the oil from the FPSO, making the oil available for export to the international market. Hammerhead is located in the south-central portion of the Stabroek Block, approximately 160 km from Georgetown. Current plans include drilling via drill ships to produce oil using approximately 14 to 30 production and injection wells. Production is expected to begin in 2029 subject to the necessary regulatory approvals and operate for at least 20 years.  To date, Exxon has obtained approval from the Government of Guyana for six development projects in the Stabroek Block – Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two, Payara, Yellowtail, Uaru and Whiptail. The first three projects are already producing oil at a daily estimated rate of 640,000 barrels per day (bpd). Related Similar Articles

Court orders ‘Guyanese Critic’ to pay Mohameds $52M for defamation Jul 19, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News From left to right: Nazar and his son Azruddin Mohamed and Mikhail Rodrigues also known as the ‘Guyanese Critic’ …Judge also imposes permanent injunction, restraining him and his news outfit from repeating defamatory statements Kaieteur News – Social media personality, Mikhail Rodrigues also known as the ‘Guyanese Critic’ has been ordered to pay in excess of $52 million to businessman Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin for defamation. A default judgment rendered by Justice Nigel Niles on Monday also permanently bars Rodrigues and his company ‘They Break News’ from taking any further defamatory actions. The court found Rodrigues guilty of defaming the Mohameds on multiple occasions in February and March 2024 during his online talk show. The Judge detailed punitive damages were awarded for these dates totaling to the sum of $22,500,000.00 each to the Mohameds. The breakdown of the damages was given as $7.5 million for defamation on February 17th, $7.5 million on March 1st, and another $7.5 million on March 14th. Further punitive damages were awarded against Rodrigues and his company in the sum of $3,500,000.00 for defamation committed on 17th February, 2024, 1st March, 2024 and 14th March, 2024 made and broadcast on the social media platform Facebook by Rodrigues. It was further ordered that the $22,500,000.00 bears an interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of filing to the date of judgment and thereafter. It was further ordered that a permanent injunction be and is hereby granted against the Defendants, restraining the Defendants whether by themselves, their servants and/or agents whosoever from uttering, repeating, posting, printing, publishing, sharing, reproducing, broadcasting or otherwise disseminating either by video, audio broadcast, print, social media or by other electronic means the offending words, utterances. Back in March through their lawyers Poonai and Poonai, the Mohameds had filed a lawsuit against Rodrigues claiming in excess of $ 100 million each. According to the court filings, the social media commentator used his programme ‘Morning Live with the Critic’ to defame businessmen Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed. It pointed out that on February 17, 2024 and up to present, Rodrigues defamed the Mohameds through Facebook progammes where he publicly uttered and broadcasted several untrue and defamatory statements about the businessmen. According to the filings, the statements and accusations against the Mohameds are patently untrue without justification, misleading, defamatory and have caused injury and significant harm to Nazar and his son Azruddin, their good name, reputation and lowered their name in the minds of right-thinking members of society. Prior to the lawsuit, Poonai and Poonai had written a letter to Rodrigues demanding that he cease and desist from making or repeating the defamatory statements he publicized against the Mohameds on his programme or at any public forum. The lawyer’s letters said.  “In your broadcast, you introduce yourself as the realest thing. Despite this, it seems you have a propensity for disseminating blatantly untrue, libelous and fictitious statements without lawful basis or justification that in their natural and ordinary meaning and by way of innuendo, are defamatory to my client and his reputation.”  It continued: “Further you hold yourself out as a Critic, yet none of your statements are valid or constructive criticism at all.  Simply put, none of your statements are real, no matter the decibel you speak and the amount of times you repeat or the amount of vitriol and hate you heap upon my client, his son and family.” Further, the lawyers demanded that Rodrigues immediately removes or retracts the statements by offering his unqualified apology to the Mohameds. The letter demanded that Rodrigues paid the businessmen in excess of $200 million.  The social media personality had however refused to accede to the demands of the Mohameds and it resulted in a lawsuit. Related Similar Articles

Soldiers nabbed with ganja in GDF vehicle Jul 19, 2024 News 22 bulky bags containing 154 lbs of Cannabis found Kaieteur News – Two sergeants of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) were on Thursday morning busted with 154 lbs of marijuana inside a service vehicle. The Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs) were identified as 42-year-old GDF Staff Sergeant Adisa Higgins from Linden and a 31-year-old GDF Sergeant Colvis Sam from Turkeyen. Both ranks are stationed at the GDF’s Camp Ayanganna Headquarters. GDF vehicle transporting the cannabis They were caught along the Coverden Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD) during a joint intelligence-led police operation conducted by ranks from Special Branch and Regional Division 4’B’. Police reported that around 03:45hrs, Thursday, ranks intercepted a GDF service motor vehicle DFB 1786, which was driven by Sam and the other occupant Higgins. The vehicle stopped along the Coverden Public Road, EBD and a search was conducted during which 22 bulky bags were found. The bags contained a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be Cannabis. Sam and Higgins were told of the offence ‘trafficking of narcotics’, cautioned and arrested. They were later escorted to the Regional Police Division 4 ‘B’ Headquarters, where the suspected Cannabis was weighed and amounted to 154 lbs. The GDF ranks are currently in police custody as investigations continue. Meanwhile, the GDF Ayanganna Headquarters issued a press release stating that the Force is collaborating with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to investigate the matter. They also reassured the public that it is not a usual occurrence, posing that the service will not tolerate such disparities. They stated that, “The GDF is committed to maintaining the highest standards of conduct among its ranks and does not condone any behaviour that undermines the trust and confidence reposed in the Force by the public.” They further noted that, “this is an anomaly and does not reflect the character and dedication of the men and women who serve. The GDF remains steadfast in its mission to protect and serve the people of Guyana with the highest level of professionalism and integrity,” GDF stated. Related Similar Articles

Guyana’s oil chief does not know leasing price for the capping stack Jul 19, 2024 News Vice President (VP), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo Kaieteur News – Chief Policymaker in the oil and gas sector here, Vice President, Bharrat said he does not know how much ExxonMobil is paying to lease one capping stack, which the company brought into Guyana recently. Guyana now has one of the 13 capping stacks world-wide, and one of two in Latin America. The equipment is being leased from Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) by ExxonMobil. On Thursday, this publication asked the Chief Policy maker with oversight for the oil sector to provide the amount being paid to lease the equipment however he claimed that he was unaware of the price and therefore could not produce a figure. The reporter asked the VP: “Can you say at what price the capping stack is being leased?” Jagdeo responded: “The lease price?…I don’t know the price. I don’t know the price.” It is concerning that both the government official and ExxonMobil’s Country Manager were unable to provide information on the cost of leasing the capping stack as transparency in the oil sector is crucial for accountability and public trust, especially when it comes to safety equipment. The same question of leasing price was posed to ExxonMobil Guyana’s Country Manager Alistair Routledge at the commissioning of the capping stack earlier this month and he too failed to provide a figure. Routledge explained, “I don’t have that number at hand but it’s a subscription service so what happens is (Oil Spill Response Limited) ORSL operates this, they maintain it, they keep it ready for deployment and then we pay a subscription fee, based on the wells we are drilling.” A capping stack is a heavy piece of metal equipment that is placed over a blown out well. It acts as a plug, thereby preventing further flow of hydrocarbons (crude oil). The capping stack was designed and built by Trendsetter Engineering- a company that has been involved in the design and development of most of the capping stacks available. The capping stack, now in country, measures 22 feet, three inches (height) and weighs 93,000 pounds (42 metric tonnes). The Air Freightable Capping Stack (AFCS) has a pressure rating of 15,000 pounds per square inch; a flow rate of zero to 330,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and depth rating of 12,500 feet (3,800 meters). According to Exxon’s Country Manager, “For ExxonMobil, safety is our top priority. Day in and day out, our teams are laser focused on preventing an instance of any size from ever happening, however in the unlikely event an instance should occur, we have state-of-the-art response capabilities in country and the financial resources to meet any clean up requirements.” Routledge also noted that frequent oil spill exercises are often conducted at GYSBI. The capping stack will now play an integral part in those activities according to him. Further, he pointed out, “We are bringing the very highest of standards of facilities and equipment to Guyana, given the unique scale of the operation and the commitment and partnership we have with the people and country of Guyana.” Related Similar Articles