Gov’t bolstering oil, gas monitoring in 2025 – Dr Jagdeo

The government plans to place further emphasis on strengthening the monitoring systems for better management of Guyana’s oil and gas sector in 2025.

This will see key pieces of legislation and legislative amendments being passed in the National Assembly, as well as the expansion of the operations within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

This was underscored by General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly press conference at Freedom House.

The government anticipates that Stabroek Block operator, ExxonMobil will seek its approval for additional deepwater developments in 2025.

“Those would have to be evaluated when we get the final requests and all the documents in,” the GS said.

To date, Exxon has secured government approval for six development projects in the Stabroek Block: Liza Phases One and Two, Payara, Yellowtail, Uaru, and Whiptail.

Dr Jagdeo added, “We’ll spend more time on building out the systems for greater monitoring of oil proceeds…and the production offshore because that was an issue.”

Dr Jagdeo further recognised that there are several challenges with getting the draft oil spill legislation ready to be laid in the National Assembly.

This crucial piece of legislation, will lay the legal framework for environmental protection and liability coverage, in the event of an oil spill.

“The AG’s department has had some issues. I’ve been pressing them to get this done because we made certain commitments that we want this table before the end of the year. I’m still pressing them to do that. but definitely next year that will be one of the laws that we want to pass,” he explained.

The legislation will detail the state’s responsibilities and those accountable in the event of an oil spill, whether it be companies operating in the sector or a shipping company.

Although existing systems effectively monitor offshore activities, the GS highlighted the government’s commitment to continuously strengthen its capabilities in this area.

This includes a comprehensive system that enables the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to monitor how much oil is being extracted by ExxonMobil and its partners from the Stabroek Block.

In addition to the sensors enabling monitoring of flaring and water quality, the EPA uses NASA’s satellites to monitor any incident of flaring as well as MAXAR technology to have a bird’s eye view of any spill.