Dear Editor,
A Stabroek News article on June 7, 2020 stated inter alia that “This newspaper had last month reported that glitches during production startup saw flaring of over 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas; a figure subsequently confirmed by the EPA to be over 9 billion cubic feet, as ExxonMobil (XOM) assured that it would have from that week begin transitioning to using the gas for well injection purposes”.
This quantity is mind-boggling and a number of persons have commented on the environmental impact of this indiscriminate flaring of associated gases. I would like to comment on the potential financial impact on the local economy if the associated gases were piped to shore instead of being flared.
To put this in perspective, one needs to first equate the energy wasted by flaring the associated gases to a standard oil measurement; Barrel of Oil Equivalent (BOE). One barrel of crude oil generally has approximately the same energy content as 6,000 cubic feet of natural gas, so this quantity of natural gas is “equivalent” to one barrel of oil.
This means that the 9 billion cubic feet of gas that was flared is equivalent to 9,000,000,000 divided by 6,000 = 1,500,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).
The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) currently consumes approximately 115,000 barrels of oil per month or a total of 1,380,000 barrels per year. This means that the 9 billion cubic feet of gas that was flared could have potentially satisfied GPL fuel requirements for a whole year.
One could argue that GPL does not have the capability to use natural gas at this time, however, if the natural gas was available for free or at a very competitive price, the investment in new power plants capable of burning natural gas would be very easy to justify and finance.
The reduction in GPL’s fuel cost could have a significant impact on the cost of electricity to every Guyanese since fuel accounts for as much as 50% of GPL’s operating costs.
The argument could also be made that XOM was flaring associated gases and it would be necessary to install a processing plant to separate the natural gas. While this is true, one needs to take into account the fact that the other components of the associated gas have a value and can stimulate local industry and add value to the local economy.
We need to ensure that systems are put in place to prevent ExxonMobil from wantonly wasting our natural resources with impunity! The best way to do this is to pipe the associated gases to shore, process it and use it for the benefit of the Guyanese people instead of letting it go up in flames!
Yours faithfully,
Tara Singh
