Twelve bids have been submitted by firms for the consultancy services for the review and evaluation of field development plans for ExxonMobil’s Yellowtail project.
Tenders were on Thursday opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board for the project, two weeks after the Ministry of Natural Resources invited bids for consultancy services for the review and evaluation of the Field Development Plan (FDP) for the Yellowtail development.
The firms that bid were:
In the letter of invitation, the Ministry of Natural Resources said that the purpose of the consultancy is to conduct an in-depth review of the Yellowtail FDP, which includes all supporting and reference documentation, along with the related environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA) submitted by Exxon and its partners; prepare a report setting out the opinions formed in the evaluation of the FDP and ESIA, addressing, at minimum, compliance or non-compliance with the requirements of the existing legislative and contractual framework, particularly the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 1986 and the Environmental Protection Act 1996, the Petroleum Agreement and international best practices and industry standards including any deficiencies, unresolved issues and areas of additional assessments or technical analysis that the GoG should request from the Licensees before making a determination on the FDP; and support the ministry’s engagements and information exchanges with the Licensees.
Additionally, the successful firm would be required to document the field development review process and outcomes, including references to international best practices and industry standards, in a manner and format to support future reference for similar review exercises and overall improvement of the FDP review process while also supporting the ministry in drafting the Yellowtail Petroleum Production License.
The Yellowtail project is ExxonMobil and partners’ fourth development in the Stabroek Block and is considered the largest undertaking since Guyana became an oil-producing nation. As part of the Yellowtail Project, ExxonMobil plans to drill between 40 and 67 wells for the 20-year duration of the investment. It is intended to be the largest of the four developments with over 250,000 barrels of oil per day targeted once production commences. Based on the schedule, once approval is granted, engineering commences in 2022 and production in the latter part of 2025.
Exxon, through Environmental Resource Management (ERM) applied to the EPA for an environmental permit to operate in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. They have since submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and other ancillary documents as part of the process as well as holding public consultations. The statutory period for the public to submit objections expired last month and since then the EPA and the Environmental Assessment Board have been silent as to what the next move will be.
A number of environmentalists and groups submitted objections to the EIA noting that the company fails to address a number of impacts on the environment. Questions were also raised about ERM’s ties to Exxon since it is the same company that did all of Exxon’s EIAs.
