The ExxonMobil company today gave all assurances that it has insurance coverage for all its petroleum activities in Guyana.

In a statement, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Alistair Routledge responded to concerns about the company’s oil spill insurance and whether it was adequate. The CEO explained that from the onset of its operations, systems were put in place.

“It is important to note from the onset that our first priority for every project is to put in place mitigations and processes that help to prevent adverse events by utilizing the best technologies, equipment, and people in our operations. ExxonMobil maintains the industry’s only sustained, dedicated and in-house oil-spill response research programme, 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 and equipment”, Mr. Routledge said.

He said many of the statements in the public domain on “full coverage” insurance and guarantees inaccurately suggest that ExxonMobil Guyana will not be able to effectively manage response activities.

It was explained that insurance is just one source of financial assurance that could be leveraged for response activities.

“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. 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.”

The CEO said Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited which is the Operator of the Stabroek block, was established in 1998 and by the end of 2020, it had almost US$5 Billion in assets, which he said is a primary form of financial assurance.

“We’re working with the Environmental Protection Agency and our co-venturers to put in place a combined $US2.0Bn of affiliate company guarantees,  a value exceeding equivalent guarantees required by regulators in Canada, the United States and United Kingdom. Contrary to claims in the media, ExxonMobil Guyana never agreed to insurance at a value of $US2.5Bn with a previous EPA administration’, Mr. Routledge noted.

He said the Exxon company remains committed to Guyana for the long term, reminding that the company has already invested billions of dollars in multiple oil and gas projects in Guyana and is dedicated to avoiding any spill.

The Opposition recently tabled a motion in the National Assembly on the issue. The motion calls on the Government to reverse its decision to terminate the process for obtaining unlimited liability coverage for the parent company for Exxon in its operations here. The motion has not come up as yet for discussion in the Assembly.

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