GEORGETOWN, Guyana – More than 1,000 people are expected to be employed when the US oil giant, ExxonMobil, gets the nod for its proposed Yellowtail petroleum, according to a document circulated here on Monday night.
A section of the gathering at the first public consultation on Monday night (DPI Photo)The project, which will have at least four phases, could result in providing at least 1, 300 jobs, according to the non-technical summary document circulated at the first public hearing on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project.
The documents notes that in the first stage of the project, called well drilling, approximately 540 people would find employment , while 600 jobs are expected in the second phase that involves the mobilization, installation and hook-up of the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel and Subsea, Umbilicals, Riders and Flowlines (SURF).
The first two phases are due to be completed before 2025.
The third stage where between 100to 140 jobs will be made available, production operations, which include the FPSO and oil tankers, will take place and in the fourth and final phase, called decommissioning, at least 60 people would get employment.
Monday’s first public hearing was jointly hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) with officers from ExxonMobil and the drafters of the EIA presenting on the specifications of the project.
The Yellowtail development, for which approval is being sought from the EPA, would be situated 126 miles from the shore, where ExxonMobil made its 13th discovery in the Stabroek block.
The development plan includes up to three drill ships drilling up to 67 wells, with tankers taking the oil to global markets.
Its initial production phase would commence in 2025, with optimum production capacity of 250,000 barrels per day, and would continue for 20 years. The FPSO is designed to have a storage capacity of two million barrels of oil.
ExxonMobil is the operator of the Stabroek block. Its partners in the consortium are Hess Corporation and CNOOC Limited.
If approved, Yellowtail would be the fourth development project for ExxonMobil and its partners in the Stabroek block and would result in oil production capacity offshore Guyana to surpass 870,000 barrels of oil per day.
Meanwhile, Guyana’s second oil production vessel, the Liza Unity, has arrived here after a 53-day journey from Singapore.
“I’m so proud of the Unity team. The sail itself is long. The advent of COVID-19 was challenging, but the team was resilient, pushed through and delivered a beautiful FPSO that’s here in Guyana. We’re all really excited that she’s joined the neighborhood next to Liza Destiny, and we’re really looking forward to the next few phases as we bring this FPSO online into 2022,” said production manager at ExxonMobil Guyana, Mike Ryan.
According to Exxon, the Liza Unity FPSO has been awarded the SUSTAIN-1 notation by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the Classification Society for the unit. It is the world’s first FPSO to achieve such recognition for sustainability for its design, documentation, and operational procedures.
“We remain committed to producing the energy which is essential to modern life and economic development, in a way that helps protect people and the environment,” Ryan said, adding that the development concept and work on the Liza Unity FPSO have been guided by the company’s enduring values.
Exxon said the Liza Phase 2 development will produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day from the Liza Unity FPSO, which will be supported by a total of six drill centers and approximately 30 wells.
