The region’s oil-spill response center is what Guyana has the potential to become as ExxonMobil commissioned a massive capping stack, readily available in country, should an unlikely event occur in its offshore operations.
Housed at the Guyana Shore Base (GYSBI), the capping stack, according to Exxon is one of only 13 in the world and one of the only two in Latin America.
“Very big deal for Guyana to have its own capping stack” – Exxon Project Manager | OilNOW
“ExxonMobil is proud to be the inaugural subscriber to this new Guyana-based capping stack service,” said President Alistair Routledge. “It is our hope that other operators both in Guyana and the neighboring countries subscribe to this service, because that will truly reflect the benefit of bringing this technology to the region.”
The brand new capping stack was designed and built by Trendsetter Engineering and is owned by Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL).
Exxon said the capping stack is the centerpiece of its larger emergency-response and spill-containment tool kit that it would deploy in the unlikely event of an oil spill.
So how do they work?
The capping stack is placed over an oil wellhead when a spill occurs. The stack acts like a “cap” to stop an oil leak until engineers can permanently seal the well.
Routledge explained that the capping stack can be deployed “within a few days”.
The capping was procured as part of the requirements of Yellowtail license.
