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Exxon granted approval from Guyana to conduct carbon-capture study – VP Jagdeo

https://oilnow.gy/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021-11-08_06-44-33.pngThe Liza Unity FPSO, Guyana’s second oil production vessel.

Guyana’s Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has announced that ExxonMobil has been given the proverbial green light by the government to conduct studies on carbon capture and storage (CCS) so that the company may utilize it in its local operations.

This approval was granted to ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited following a request by the company, Dr Jagdeo indicated during his keynote address to the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (GCCI) 132nd  annual awards ceremony held in Georgetown on Thursday.

“Exxon sought permission and we have given that permission to do a study on carbon capture and storage,” Mr. Jagdeo said.

Speaking at the same event, President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge also alluded to the company’s carbon capture initiatives.

“On a corporate level, ExxonMobil announced our Low Carbon Solutions business to commercialize our extensive low-carbon technology portfolio, which is initially focused on Carbon Capture and Storage, advancing plans for multiple new opportunities around the world to enable large-scale greenhouse gas emission reductions,” he said.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere from industrial activity, and injecting it into deep geologic formations for safe, secure and permanent storage. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN-IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have agreed that CCS is one of the most important low-carbon technologies required to achieve societal climate goals at the lowest cost. CCS is also one of the only technologies that could enable some industry sectors to decarbonize, including the refining, chemicals, cement and steel sectors.

ExxonMobil is a leader in carbon capture, with over 30 years of experience in CCS technology and current carbon capture capacity totalling about nine million tons per year. Cumulatively, the oil major has captured more CO2 than any other company – 120 million metric tons – accounting for approximately 40 per cent of all the anthropogenic (man-made) CO2 that has ever been captured. This figure is equivalent to the emissions of more than 25 million cars in one year.

Further to this, ExxonMobil’s Low Carbon Solutions is advancing plans for more than 20 new carbon capture and storage opportunities around the world to enable large-scale emission reductions. Earlier this year, the oil company announced its plans to invest $3 billion on lower-emission energy solutions through 2025.

Currently, this oil major is collaborating with multiple partners across industry, academia and government to advance carbon capture technologies to reduce costs and enhance scalability. This includes the company’s work with FuelCell Energy to advance carbonate fuel cell technology to more efficiently capture CO2 from industrial facilities, and Global Thermostat, a collaboration to advance efforts to capture CO2 directly from the air.

Notably, Co-Director of Energy Practice at America’s Market Intelligence (AMI), Arthur Deakin believes that the best path for new oil producer Guyana is through the utilization of ExxonMobil’s CCS technology and the implementation of a carbon tax. OilNOW had reported Deakin as saying that CCS technology is the “cheapest and most advanced option” for reducing emissions in heavy industries.

Along with Exxon’s expertise in CCS technology, Deakin had recommended that the Guyanese government implement an attractive carbon pricing framework to provide market certainty. The government is in favour of a stronger carbon price and to show this, it increased the fee for flaring offshore Guyana from US$30 to US$45 per tonne of carbon emitted. The Ali-led administration has also highlighted the importance of a strong carbon price in its updated Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.

Local NGO ‘unwittingly pushing prejudices of developed world’ with calls to halt oil production – Guyana VP

https://oilnow.gy/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/245420835_4363660357062486_3880743320397150420_n.jpgDr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Vice President of Guyana.

Guyana’s Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo remains adamant that developing countries have a right to pursue prosperity through the commercialization of their natural resources in the same way rich countries have done, and continue to do, on a massive scale across the globe. He said the actions by a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), while well-intentioned, is actually serving the agenda of developed countries which are seeking to dominate oil production so that they can continue to cash in big as the world moves away from fossil fuel.

With oil demand increasing, Guyana will not sit on its hands while Saudi Arabia, USA keep on pumping – Vice President

In May of this year a group of Guyanese citizens filed a case to challenge fossil fuel production on the grounds that it exacerbates global warming and threatens human rights. The case, which is before Guyana’s Constitutional Court, claims that government’s approval of the ExxonMobil-led oil and gas operations violates the applicants’ constitutional rights to a safe and healthy environment. They allege that under these agreements, Exxon will produce large quantities of petroleum which when burnt, would create large amounts of greenhouse gases which in turn would cause climate change, making Guyana’s environment unsafe and unhealthy.

“Well, if you add all of the emissions from ExxonMobil here in Guyana from the current FPSO and emissions from every sector in Guyana, it will not be equivalent to the emissions of the world one hour in a day…That is annual emissions. But yet we are contributing to climate change?” Mr. Jagdeo said to those gathered at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 132nd Awards Ceremony Presentation and Gala on Thursday evening in Georgetown.

Guyana’s oil development will not undermine climate change agenda – President Ali

He said on the other hand, the United States and others are asking oil and gas operators to ramp up production as oil prices continue to climb.

“So, our NGO believes that we must shut down the operations here, but in the developed world, they want more oil pumped because prices are escalating and affecting their people, their businesses and their consumers,” Mr. Jagdeo pointed out.

He suggested that there is a high degree of hypocrisy and unfairness at play when rich countries say the developing world must not pursue any fossil fuel related infrastructure and advocate for a halt to financing of these activities, when they themselves are pursuing these objectives.

“But we have just seen that when gas prices tripled in Europe, the same countries that say this, there are now starting up some coal-fired power plants which are even more polluting than using gas for energy. So, when those countries are faced with crises, they look at any solution, whether it’s polluting or non-polluting,” he said.

Guyana oil must help supply 24 million bpd demand in 2050, says Vice President

Referring to the court action by the local group of citizens, Mr. Jagdeo said, “…unwittingly, I believe, they are pushing the prejudices of the developed world.”

ExxonMobil has found over 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent offshore Guyana since 2015 which experts and groups such as the Inter-American Development Bank have said could potentially transform Guyana into one of the most prosperous countries in the world.

Using a model of just five offshore developments being underway by 2025 targeting an estimated 750,000 barrels of oil per day, the IDB said considering the sequencing of the projects, Guyana would ultimately accumulate around US$49 billion by 2054 in oil revenue. Exxon has said around 10 FPSOs will be needed to develop the resources it has discovered so far.

Oil exports remain key driver of Guyana’s GDP, says IDB in latest report

However, experts have warned that the window for developing and maximising returns from these resources is closing, as the world moves away from fossil fuel in pursuit of renewable forms of energy.

FM

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