Attorney Melinda Jankie has expressed concern that the liability coverage submitted by ExxonMobil for its Liza Phase 2 operations in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana is not enough but Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Dr Vincent Adams has reiterated that it meets global industry standards.
It is for this reason that the EPA will grant the permit needed for the project, he said. “It satisfied coverage to industry standards,” Adams reiterated yesterday.
Yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek reported that ExxonMobil is expected to receive its permit from the EPA this week for its Liza Phase 2 operations after assuring the agency that it could cover the liability in the event of an oil spill. The EPA had previously expressed concern that ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), which with partners CNOOC and NEXXEN are in a production sharing agreement with the government of Guyana, had applied for the Liza Phase 2 permit but did not show evidence that it was financially capable of absorbing the liabilities from an offshore spill. Having satisfied itself on the matter, the EPA is now prepared to grant the permit.
