ExxonMobil Guyana said it is prepared to respond to any unplanned events through scalable responses, as its proposed Haimara offshore development moves through the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.
The company hosted a public scoping meeting at the Umana Yana in Georgetown on Thursday as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) review process.
The meeting forms part of the EPA’s scoping phase, during which stakeholders are invited to submit comments and concerns to help shape the Terms of Reference for the environmental study.
The company’s Environmental and Regulatory Advisor, Nina Canal, said ExxonMobil incorporates mitigative and preventative measures and ensures its workforce is adequately trained to respond to an incident should one occur.
“We understand that there is risk associated with unplanned events and because of this we incorporate mitigative measures, preventative measures, as well as ensuring that all of our workforce is adequately trained to respond to an incident should one occur,” she said.
Project Management Engineer Rea Cauthern said Haimara is one of two proposed developments currently undergoing environmental review. He said the project will be evaluated alongside other existing and planned developments in the Stabroek Block to determine any cumulative environmental impacts.
“As part of the EIA, we’re going to be looking at what are the cumulative effects of having multiple FPSOs (Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading vessels) in proximity to each other,” he said.
Issues to be examined include marine ecosystems, water quality, air quality, coastal habitats, social infrastructure, employment, waste management and potential unplanned events.
Public comments submitted during the consultation period will be considered in determining the scope of the final EIA study.
