ExxonMobil Guyana’s prime contractor, Schlumberger (SLB), is required to resubmit an application for environmental authorisation to operate its Houston, East Bank Demerara source storage and calibration facility.
This was confirmed to OilNOW by the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Khemraj Parsram.
Schlumberger recently approached the court for a stay of a ruling it made to quash the EPA’s decision to not require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project.
In that ruling, the court restrained SLB or its agents from continuing the operations authorised by EPA at the facility, unless a “lawfully issued” permit is granted.
SLB, in its stay application, requested that it be given two months to decommission its Houston operations and seek alternatives to not breach contractual obligations. With the stay denied, SLB must halt all operations and reapply to the EPA.
“The court has made its judgement…so with that being said, we will have to go through that whole process again and then make a decision,” Parsam outlined.
Schlumberger says it is the world’s leading provider of technology for reservoir characterisation, drilling, production, and processing to the oil and gas industry and is a major service provider to Exxon providing technical support for its operations in the Stabroek Block which have to date resulted in proven reserves.
In 2017, Schlumberger decided to invest significantly and established a long-term footprint in Guyana through its US$75 million oil services facility base at Houston.
