The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disclosed by way of an advertisement in the local newspapers yesterday that ExxonMobil’s proposed fibre optic cable project does not require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as it has determined that it will not have any significant impact on human health. Be that as it may, it is still giving the public 30 days from Sunday to submit any concerns or objections to the project.
Appeals and objections have to be addressed to the agency’s Sophia office.
Earlier this month, Guyana Standard would have reported that Exxonmobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), has every intention of bringing a state-of-the-art fibre optic cable system to shore and hopes to kickstart the project by year-end. This was noted in the company’s project summary report which was submitted to the EPA.
According to the report, EEPGL’s submarine fiber optic cable will connect the company’s offshore facilities to onshore network services. Guyana Standard understands that this connection will establish a foundation for high-speed / low-latency connectivity of onshore and offshore facilities as they become operational.
Furthermore, the link is expected to connect existing EEPGL onshore and offshore facilities to Guyana’s foundation infrastructure, allowing implementation of digital technology to improve productivity (field access data and planning), support remote operations, and support reliability (process monitoring and inspection).
This news agency also understands that EEPGL proposes to begin some of the construction works by the fourth quarter of 2020 and complete same by the third quarter of 2021. After this, the company expects to commence works for connection to the Liza Phase Two offshore development in 2022 and a planned connection to the Payara offshore development in 2023 pending required approvals.
