Artificial island shore base has suffered work delays
to ExxonMobil to support its offshore oil operations, according to a contract signed in 2021.
But on the heels of an explosive Reuters article that claimed that the Mohameds were engaged in gold and drug smuggling and that that US government officials had repeatedly warned ExxonMobil to avoid doing business with the businessman, HADI’s pulled out of the deal and sold it shares to the other partners. The decision, Nazar “Shell” Mohammed had explained was one based on personal religious beliefs.
Mohamed has maintained that there is no truth in the article and has deemed the report deemed defamatory.
When the sod was turned for the facility it was said that at least 300 jobs would have been generated during the construction phase while the jobs generated during the operation phase will depend solely on the needs of Exxon.
Boyer had said that the construction methodology is heavy equipment-based, so there will be a demand for operators and equipment movers.
Students of the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Technology were last year exposed to reclamation and construction engineering techniques used to create the artificial island, as the company took them on site to see firsthand what was being done.
The students’ visit was in keeping with VEHSI’s commitment to help increase the technical capacity of Guyanese. The company had said that while at the site, the students engaged the construction team on the ground by querying the various techniques, reasons for employing those techniques and the preferences of one material or method over the other, among other pertinent engineering questions about the facility and its construction. The construction team also explained the project’s rigorous construction schedule, environmental compliance and answered questions about qualifications and experience needed to be part of this type of construction project.
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Alistair Routledge has also said that that VEHSI is an important project because it would enable investors in the oil and gas sector to do more. He said that VEHSI’s role will be different from that of Guyana Shore Base Incorporated (GYSBI) at Houston. GYSBI is Guyana’s first shore base facility and has enabled Exxon to move almost all of its supply chain for drilling and production operations from Trinidad to Guyana.
He added that some of the fabrication of jumpers and steel plates to go on the seabed to connect the wells are being done in Guyana at a smaller facility – at SAIPEM – but with VEHSI coming on board that would increase capacity significantly.