The President of ExxonMobil Guyana has responded to what he calls misinformation about oil spill insurance, noting that the company has full insurance coverage if there’s an oil spill.
In a statement released on its website and social media pages, President of ExxonMobil Guyana Alistar Routledge denied the allegations branding them as misinformation.
“Recognizing the ongoing discussion and the misinformation surrounding oil spillage insurance, ExxonMobil Guyana wishes to categorically state that it has insurance coverage that meets international industry standards for all its petroleum activities in Guyana. We have the financial capacity to meet our responsibilities for an adverse event, and we are committed to paying all legitimate costs in the unlikely event of an oil spill.”
His statement comes as the company continues to receive backlash from local media about the need to provide full coverage to cover any environmental or other damage caused by an oil spill. Since 2019, ExxonMobil has been accused of polluting Guyana’s waters and air space.
Routledge was keen to note that insurance is just one source of financial assurance that could be leveraged for response activities while adding, “The value of insurance will not limit the company’s ability to respond to an event, and response activities would certainly not be delayed by discussions with insurers.”
He appealed to the people of Guyana to trust that the limited liability company he heads can handle all the financial implications of an oil spill, should it occur.
Expounding further, he said, “ExxonMobil maintains the industry’s only sustained, dedicated and in-house oil-spill response research program, which dates back to the 1970s. Here in Guyana, we adhere to an internationally accepted, tiered response system used to determine the requirements of response personnel.”
“This system remains aligned with the principles of the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC), the Caribbean Islands Oil Pollution Preparedness Response and Cooperation (OPRC), and the National Oil Spill Response Plan of Guyana to provide an efficient framework to build preparedness and response capabilities matching the oil spill risks from all types of operations. ExxonMobil Guyana has invested billions of dollars in multiple oil and gas projects here. We are dedicated to avoiding any spill, but should one occur, we are prepared to mitigate and resolve it as quickly and comprehensively as possible,” Routledge concluded.
In February 2022, ExxonMobil started production at Guyana’s second offshore oil development on the Stabroek Block, Liza Phase 2, taking total production capacity to more than 340,000 barrels per day in only seven years since the country’s first discovery.
