Expansion of offshore oil and gas activities has catalysed efforts by the Labour Ministry to have frequent inspections relating to labour and operational safety, with the intention to make it a monthly agenda.
Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton shared with media operatives on Friday that the first inspection offshore last month did not raise any discrepancy relating to labour or operational safety and health.
Discourse continues with ExxonMobil on the arrangements for officers to police these vessels. Minister Hamilton has outlined that Government is open for business but it must be accompanied by adherence to the law.
“I have said to ExxonMobil, I believe they have a responsibility to ensure all their contractors abide by the law. What we want is amicable labour relations. Guyana is open for business but once you operate in this space, you have to follow the law…My intention is the same time the OSH officers are going, the labour officers will also be going. I will want to have them every month. That has to be discussed with Exxon and the other party. My technical officers are close to the matter and are having discussions with them,” Hamilton posited.
He also clarified that the costs attached to send labour officers offshore will be incurred to the oil company, not the Ministry.
“That’s an oil company cost. They’re responsible for taking my officers there. I’m treating the offshore as onshore. It’s a workspace. All I can say is that the arrangement with ExxonMobil is that regularly, my officers can go on the FPSOs and whatever vessels out there and it is no cost to the Ministry of Labour.”
Notably, given the preference to have frequent monitoring on these vessels and limited trained personnel to conduct such operations, the Ministry is boosting its capacity with training.
“We have to train more officers because presently, only two Guyanese we have in this country who are trained to do that. I want labour and OSH officers to go on the vessels, looking at both labour relations; and health and safety. We have to also police the vessels that are coming in. Every vessel that enters, the same way GRA and MARAD go onto the vessel, we should have an OSH and labour officer,” it was highlighted.
Operational Safety and Health officers have increased from nine to 30. The Ministry has facilitated training for fourteen Guyanese to be trained overseas.
Meanwhile, more than 3500 Guyanese are currently supporting ExxonMobil’s activities in Guyana. The oil major and its direct contractors spent approximately $219 million with more than 880 local suppliers in 2021, a 37 per cent year-over-year increase.
Guyana’s oil production capacity will soon reach 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) following the commencement of production at ExxonMobil’s second offshore oil development on the Stabroek Block – Liza Phase 2 project.
This now adds to the more than 120,000 bpd capacity at the Liza Destiny FPSO, which began production in December 2019 and is now delivering at better than design capacity.
The Liza Unity FPSO arrived in Guyana in October 2021. It is moored in water depth of about 1650 metres and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude. The Liza Unity is the world’s first FPSO to be awarded the SUSTAIN-1 notation by the American Bureau of Shipping in recognition of the sustainability of its design, documentation and operational procedures.
