ExxonMobil increases gas flaring offshore Guyana due to gas compressor problem

Last Updated on Friday, 29 January 2021, 17:45 by Denis Chabrol

ExxonMobil  Friday afternoon said it was forced to increase the amount of gas that it is flaring from the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel named Liza Destiny.

The company says this is due to a technical problem with the seal on the gas compressor aboard the vessel anchored more than 100 miles off the coast of Guyana.

ExxonMobil says this “unfortunate incident” resulted in the company having to temporarily increase its flare above pilot levels in order to maintain safe operations.

“We are disappointed that this unexpected issue has occurred and we’re working diligently with the vessel’s owner and the equipment vendor to understand and fix the issue as quickly as possible,” Alistair Routledge, President of ExxonMobil Guyana was quoted as saying in a brief company statement.

There was no immediate idea about the amount of gas now being flared and whether production has declined from the capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.

The relevant government authorities have been informed and we providing regular updates.

This setback comes just over  month after ExxonMobil had reported that, after about one year, it had reached full capacity production because the troublesome gas injection system had been fixed.