ExxonMobil Guyana has replanted the mangrove vegetation cleared at the Ogle foreshore, East Coast Demerara for the landing of its fibre optic cable which will service its offshore facilities.
The exercise was overseen by officials from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) as part of regulatory approvals the company received to clear a 240 square-metre area. The replanting exercise is part of an environment mitigation plan developed for the project.
The exercise entailed the removal of mangroves plants and cordgrass. A section of rip rap boulders within the approved zone also had to be removed to facilitate the cable connection. The boulders were also replaced.
“ExxonMobil Guyana is committed to conducting its business in a manner that is compatible with the balanced environmental and economic needs of communities where we operate. Working with the relevant regulators to mitigate environmental impacts is an integral part of that commitment,” said the company’s Projects Environmental and Regulatory Manager Erik DeMicco.
ExxonMobil Guyana also used the opportunity to remove some 1.4 tonnes of trash from a 100-metre stretch along the seawall. The trash was transported to the landfill facility at Haags Bosch, East Bank Demerara.
Meanwhile, the mangrove vegetation cleared was chipped and the possibility of recycling and using the material explored instead of disposing it.
The fibre optic cable includes two types of terrestrial transmission infrastructure: underground routing of cables within buried ducts, and aerial transmission on existing poles.
The construction work for the Cable Landing Stations will be followed by a connection to the Liza Phase 2 offshore development this year and a planned connection to the Payara offshore development in 2023.
