GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — ExxonMobil Guyana says preparations are in place to shut down operations in the Stabroek Block to avert an oil spill should Venezuela ramp up its aggression against oil exploration and production in the waters of Guyana.

“On some of the subsea equipment, those subsea trees have valves, and what that means is that we can close all of those subsea wells using that tree equipment if we need to,” said ExxonMobil Guyana’s Projects Manager Rebecca Cvikota.

“Like, we are always able to stop production should we get the information that something might be happening that would require us to do so,” she added.

Earlier this month, a Venezuelan military patrol spent an estimated four hours in the section of the Stabroek Block informing production and drilling vessels that they were in Venezuelan waters. The two
countries have an ongoing border dispute which is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Speaking during a question-and-answer segment at a public consultation on the proposed Longtail project, the ExxonMobil Guyana senior official said the company is ready to shut off valves if it receives
information about a serious threat to its assets in the Stabroek Block in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Asked about safety for crew members aboard oil exploration and production vessels if a foreign warship attacks or boards a vessel, Cvikota said the crews were trained to respond in such circumstances.

“There are protocols in place, and that’s part of the crews’ training about what the actions would be,” she said, declining to provide details for security reasons.

Cvikota said that “production takes second seat” to the number one priority of safety, reiterating that the operations could be shut down to ensure the safety of people, the environment and the community.

Current projections are that production at Longtail will begin in 2031.