According to the Payara Petroleum Production Licence, ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) is expected to provide Guyana with US$400,000 (GY$82,800,000) annually for five consecutive years to support independent audits to be carried out by the government.
The money which would amount to over GY$400 million over five years, would be paid to an account that is held and controlled by the government and would be used to procure third-party auditors to supplement the country’s Chief Inspector’s and develop institutional capacity for the ongoing conduct of audits.
First Payara Development well spudded, overall project 45% complete
Furthermore, the licensee is expected to facilitate and fully cooperate with annual audits related to safety in critical drilling and production operations including waste management and compliance conducted by the government’s Chief Inspector. The licensee is also expected to meet the Chief Inspector at his request to ensure any issues, concerns, and/or recommendations arising out of the audit are complied with and/or addressed in a manner satisfactory to the Minister as being in keeping with international oilfield practices.
It should be noted that the government has not appointed a Chief Inspector and the foregoing requirement is not included in the licences for the Liza Phase One and Two operations.
The Payara development, located 200 kilometers offshore Guyana in 1,800 meters water depth, is the third development within the Stabroek block where current discovered recoverable resources are estimated at over 9 billion oil-equivalent barrels. The $9 billion development, targeted for start-up in 2024, will focus on an estimated resource base of about 600 million oil-equivalent barrels. Ten drill centers are planned along with up to 41 wells, including 20 production and 21 injection wells.
Payara project allowed Guyanese company to rehire 30% of staff that were laid off
The project will utilize onshore infrastructure which includes shorebases, warehouses, storage and pipe yards, fabrication facilities, fuel supply facilities, and waste management facilities in Guyana.
