ExxonMobil to put down buoys in Stabroek Block

-eight vessels to be offshore for various tasks

As part of stepped up operations in Guyana’s waters, ExxonMobil will be putting down a series of buoys around its Liza well in the Stabroek Block and within a matter of weeks it will have a total of eight vessels offshore engaged in various tasks.

The ramping up of activities follows the production licence that was issued to it earlier this year.

The Maritime Administration Depart-ment (MARAD) in a notice to the public said that on September 1st, ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Pro-duction Guyana Limited (EEPGL) will begin the fourth scheduled services visit in support of the extended Meteorological and Oceanographic Survey within the Guyana Maritime Zone.

It said the exercise has now been extended for approximately three years through to September 30, 2020, the year that ExxonMobil is expected to begin production from the Liza well.

MARAD said that the operation will entail the servicing of existing moorings, movement of the Liza ‘C’ Buoy and installation of new sub-surface and seabed low profile Met-ocean equipment. It listed locations for a series of buoys.

Service visits will be performed normally twice per year at various distances off the coast and within the potential area of operation within Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone, MARAD said.

Fishing vessels are especially warned that the area in the vicinity of the buoys and bottom mounted equipment are closed to trawling until the completion of the exercise.

From today, EEPGL begins a three-month drilling programme at the Turbot-1 well within the Stabroek Block.

It is utilizing five vessels at the drill point 107 miles from the coast: Stena Carron, M/V Cat Island, M/V Fast Titan, M/V Hannah Chouest and Hos Commander, according to a separate MARAD notice. The drill site is one square kilometer.

In addition to these vessels, three others are to participate in a 3D/4D seismic survey within the Stabroek Block over a period of five months.

These vessels are: PGS Hyperion, M/V Thor Assister, M/V Thor Omega.

The drill site is 86 miles from the coast and covers an area of 2,215 square kilometers, another MARAD notice said.

Police were called in to calm the situation

Hundreds of passengers scheduled to travel with Dynamic Airways on Saturday turned up at the airport only to be told that the flight had been cancelled and will instead be departing today.