Country Manager says it doesn’t matter whether shore base is in Georgetown or Berbice
Country Manager of ExxonMobil Guyana, Rod Henson, said it does not matter whether an onshore logistics base to support the Liza development project is located at Crab Island in the Berbice River, or another part of the country, once the facility is located in Guyana.
Henson was at the time speaking at a public meeting hosted by the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Secretariat and supported by The Carter Center. The meeting was held on Saturday July 8, in East Berbice, Guyana.
“It is true that we require shore bases here…in order to extract the resource. We put out clear and transparent tenders and put out a bidding process so everyone can contribute. We don’t dictate where that is. For our exploration activities, our shore base has been in Trinidad. What we dictated as part of a transparent tender is that that shore base has to be in Guyana,” Henson, who represents the oil and gas sub-sector of industry on the Guyana EITI Multi-Stakeholder Group, said.
He explained that the calls for tenders specified what is needed for the shore base but never specified a location. “If it’s in Berbice, great. If it’s in Georgetown, great. We are not dictating where that is. It is an open and transparent tender process,” he said.
The Guyana government has signaled its intention to partner with the country’s private sector to support the creation of an onshore logistics base. Initial assessments show that the location of Crab Island is one with many advantages. However, a feasibility study is currently underway and this is expected to inform the decision on the location of the facility.
