(OilNow) Through the engagement of a specialist firm in December 2019, the in-depth review of the Field Development Plan (FDP), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and supporting documents for the Payara development also included an assessment of eleven key areas of the project.  

Bayphase Oil and Gas Consultants, the company that was contracted by the Government of Guyana, assessed the following areas:

1. The strategy and the development model, as well as the criteria for the choices that have been made by the Contractor (with a particular focus on cost effectiveness) and potential alternatives.
2. The engineering, geological and geophysical interpretations, simulations, and estimations (with a particular focus on recovery factor efficiency using natural gas injection and available natural gas for export)
3. The proposed project schedule (with a particular focus on tail-end production).
4. The proposed subsea system.
5. The well and reservoir management strategy (considering the Government of Guyana’s objective of maximizing the recovery of hydrocarbon resources and of no-gas flaring)
6. The proposed oil and gas surface facilities.
7. The Health, Safety, Environment and Social (HSES) impacts and proposed mitigation.
8. The Environmental Impact Assessment
9. The Abandonment Plan.
10. The overall risk management strategy.
11. Assessing how learnings from the Liza Phase 2 FDP review had been incorporated into the Payara FDP.

At the end of this process, Bayphase prepared a report summarizing the opinions formed in the evaluation of the FDP and EIA, highlighting any deficiencies, unresolved issues, or areas of additional technical analysis that government should request from the Contractor before making a determination on the FDP. The assignment also included the development of a National FDP Guideline designed to enable Guyana to engage with the Licensees responsible for developing its petroleum resources in a structured manner that ensure plans submitted and approved met regulatory requirements.

Bayphase said training workshops were also provided which were designed to instruct Guyanese nationals on how to review FDP submissions. 

“It will be important to have a team of technical experts to assess progress to date and to assist the Ministry where necessary, to successfully conclude the permitting exercise,” Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources said on Saturday, in reference to the decision taken by the newly installed PPP/C government to have the work done so far on Payara, reviewed.   

In this regard, a team currently in Guyana, headed by former Alberta Premier, Alison Redford, is now tasked with examining the work that was done by Bayphase. The Ministrysaid this is in the interest of the people of Guyana and “is in keeping with international transparency and accountability standards prior to approval being given.”

According to the Ministry, Bayphase was contracted at a sum of US$386,830 which commenced on December 27, 2019. “There was a first contract extension (no cost) to July 27, 2020 and a second contract extension to September 27, 2020 with a revised contract sum of US$429,382 which represents an 11 percent increase.”

The review of the work undertaken by Bayphase is expected to be completed by the end of August.

Once approved, Payara will become ExxonMobil’s third development at the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, following the Liza Phase 1 and 2 projects.