Photos and video clips published on social media on Thursday showing a dark substance on water just off the coast of Georgetown is not from offshore exploration and production activities, according to a statement from ExxonMobil on its Facebook page on Friday.
“We can confirm that all activities related to production offshore are operating under normal conditions,” the company said, adding, “We monitor our activities real-time, have looked into the concerns raised yesterday and can confirm there were no spills from our operations.”
OilNOW understands that the Civil Defence Commission was made aware of a discharge of a substance close to the Demerara River at approximately 0.5 miles North of the Marriott Hotel, Georgetown, on Thursday.
The Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard was contacted, and a reconnaissance was conducted in the potentially affected area. The reconnaissance was carried out within a 5 square NM area which extended to 0.5NM North of the Mariott Hotel to 5NM North then 5NM West then South.
At the mouth of the Demerara River, the Coast Guard observed what appeared to be a substance which caused a thin sheen-like appearance on the water; other than this sighting, no other suspicious activity was seen.
In keeping with the established disaster management response protocol within Guyana’s EEZ, the EPA and MARAD were also called upon to conduct an assessment of the area.
Oil production is ongoing at the Liza Phase 1 development located approximately 120 miles offshore Guyana at the 6.6 million acres Stabroek Block.
