On Sunday last, this newspaper reported that ExxonMobil and two of its subcontractors had been fined three times this year – in March, April, and May – for “minor spills of hydraulic fluid in the offshore Stabroek Block”. The fines were also minor as it was reported that the total the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had received or was expected to receive was $600,000 or some US$2,600 at the current exchange rate.
The takeaway was that the fines were small because the infractions were slight. To quote EPA Director Vincent Adams in one instance it amounted to, “about two litres of hydraulic fluid. The spills were very, very minor in terms of environmental impact”. And Dr Adams acknowledged that in one case, the source of the spill was a leaky hose. This was said to be a lapse in maintenance on the part of one of ExxonMobil’s subcontractors. There was no real explanation as to whether this was the cause of the first, second or third spill, or what caused the other two. However, Dr Adams did refer to four other instances this year where poor maintenance had resulted in spills. He cited the fuel spills involving Demerara Distillers Ltd (30,000 litres), Troy Resources (5,000 litres) and Guyana Power and Light (quantity not stated or not known), as well as an incident at Linden where over 60,000 litres were spilled.
One supposes that these examples were given to further highlight how “very, very minor” the spills involving ExxonMobil’s subcontractors were. Possibly, this rhetoric was aimed at quelling concern, since in fact a major spill involving a company drilling for oil in the Atlantic would totally eclipse any or all of the abovementioned. Any spill, therefore, however minor, must be viewed as serious. More so when there was no real explanation as to why there were three spills over the course of three months.
ExxonMobil said it had “comprehensive planned maintenance and inspection programmes based on the manufacturers’ recommendations and industry best practices”. It also touted that “regular and routine maintenance is important to ensure the safe and operational integrity of the offshore installations”. Why would a company so dedicated to maintenance not ensure the same dedication exists among its subcontractors? A one-off incident would be a mistake or an accident and perhaps understandable. Three in three months surely point to negligence.
While fines are punitive and aimed at deterring further infractions, US$2,600 does not even equate to a slap on the wrist. However, Dr Adams did correctly state that it should not be about the money, since securing a safe environment was priceless. But as true as that statement is, it is one that is ignored when the lure of greenbacks beckon. For if the true focus was maintaining a clean environment why is oil drilling even taking place? Setting aside the risk of spills and the destruction that could be caused, the actions involved in getting to the oil including waste disposal, as yet untold damage to the ocean bed, and emissions from the drilling rigs also harm the environment in the long term.
So, the EPA and Dr Adams have got their work cut out for them and in the event of a major catastrophe are likely to be left holding the bag, but they are hardly to blame. The predicament in which this country finds itself was created when the government, seeing nothing but dollar signs in the promise of oil, all but abandoned proper stewardship of this land. The many examples of the resource curse in the world that warranted studying and thus avoiding were brushed aside. Our very smart leaders did not even consider upgrading and amending environmental laws before rushing to sign an ill-advised, oil-exploitation contract.
Therefore, when maintenance issues arise – and they will, but let us pray they remain minor – we are in a position to lose far more than we could ever possibly hope to gain, no matter how many billion barrels of oil ExxonMobil and the others haul up and sell. There is no amount of money than can replace a pristine environment. One only has to recall the effects of the Omai Gold Mines tailings pond spill or look at the interior rivers and the flora and fauna that have suffered and are still suffering as a result of gold and diamond mining. The lessons are there, we simply choose not to learn from them.
