More than fifty persons benefited from oil spill management training over the last three days which was facilitated by ExxonMobil. The course concluded on Thursday with a demonstration of how the various tools are used in an oil spill at the Splashmin’s Resort on the Linden Soesdyke Highway, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI).
The training, called University of Spill Management, provided information on dispersants, tools used and structure of response strategies among other exercises.
Exxon’s Country Manager Rod Henson noted this is the second oil spill response training facilitated by the oil giant for the year. “This is one of the ongoing efforts that ExxonMobil is doing: capacity building efforts and partnership efforts with the various stakeholder groups,” he was quoted by DPI as saying.
Representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and coastal Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) were among the participants in the three-day course which included both theoretical and practical training, DPI reported.
This recent training is part of Exxon’s global training in oil spill management. “We’ve had this course for 10 years, we’ve trained over 2,000 people so we’re very happy to bring that to Guyana,” Henson explained.
Guyana’s oil industry is still in the developmental stages and there are concerns about the protection of the environment among stakeholders and the general public. Henson assured that Exxon “is committed to operations that are safe and respect the environment”.
For the participants, the training provided very practical knowledge that will be beneficial to the work they have to do in the oil and gas industry.
Marissa Foster, a Petroleum Geologist with the Petroleum Department at the Ministry of Natural Resources said the “intense” training helps her department in the preparation of policies to address this type of disaster.
“We’re preparing for the sector so we have a lot of policies and systems we’re putting in place. So, it gives us an idea of how things are done on the international scene,” Foster said.
The training was also considered essential to the operations of the Coast Guard. Lance Corporal, Dexter Sealey noted this was his first time being exposed to this level of training. “It’s good for the Coast Guard because we will have the equipment so that we can do quick response to oil spill,” he noted.
The CDC is on the national committee that is working to finalise Guyana’s National Oil Spill Emergency Plan.
