In the eyes of Chatham House Advisor, Dr. Valerie Marcel, Guyana has done quite a lot to prepare for oil production within a period of four years, especially as it relates to streamlining policies for local content and laying the necessary groundwork for monitoring the behavior of the operators. The tasks before Guyana is incredibly colossal and what it has started is indeed impressive the industry expert said. Be that as it may, she said that Guyana still needs to be on the watch out for flaring which involves burning gas.
The practice is one that is harmful to the environment as it releases toxic chemicals along with greenhouse gases. Guyana has already faced harsh criticism from stakeholders far and wide as ExxonMobil was allowed to burn over 11 billion cubic feet of gas in the Stabroek Block due to a faulty gas compressor for the Liza Destiny.
During a recent discussion on this matter, the Chatham House Advisor said that Guyana has found a substantial amount of associated gas, all of which cannot be re-injected. Be that as it may, she said that Guyana has to ensure the gas is not flared.
The industry expert was keen to acknowledge that flaring is a matter that developing and emerging producers have struggled with avoiding.
Dr. Marcel said, “In the New Producers Discussions Group of which Guyana is a member, flaring is one of the topics that is discussed at length. It is something that has been a huge challenge across the group because you want to get the oil out quickly so you can get the money but if you rush that then you won’t have the infrastructure in place to capture the gas, you don’t have the policy to determine what you will do with the gas and you don’t have institutions that are strong enough to sort of twist the arms of the operators to say ‘no you can’t flare’ and you can’t just pay a fine to continue flaring.”
The Chatham House Advisor said it is a very difficult issue but it is critical that Guyana gets it right. If it succeeds, she said it would mean that the country has a lot of the oversight mechanisms in place to properly monitor the sector and it would be a reassuring sign of the state of the industry.
ABOUT THE NPDG
The New Petroleum Producers Discussion Group (NPDG) was first established in 2012 by Chatham House and provides a unique forum that brings together governments from over 30 new and prospective oil and gas producers to share their ideas and experiences.
The discussion group includes technical advisory groups, emerging producers and more established producers, as well as non-governmental organizations and industry representatives. It’s annual meeting includes a two-day international discussion, interactive training sessions, a national seminar for the host country to debate policy issues, and public information sessions.
The Group is led by Dr. Valerie Marcel.
