GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC -The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tuesday said it has started using an independent satellite monitoring system that is allowing it to monitor flaring levels and the amount of produced water being dumped into the ocean by oil companies operating offshore Guyana.
In a statement, the EPA said it has been monitoring the Produced Formation Water (PFW), which contains some chemical characteristics. The water trapped in underground formations is brought to the surface during oil and gas extraction and then dumped back into the ocean by oil companies.
“The EPA would never allow any discharges that could be described as “hot, greasy water” from ever occurring in Guyanese waters. We require that any impacts be well within acceptable levels and as low as reasonably practicable.
“We use continuous independent satellite monitoring to detect even the slightest oil sheen on the waters and thermal imaging to detect every gas flaring. We ensure that our standards are being met daily,” the EPA said, adding that the PFW meets specific regulations.
One such regulation states that any discharge to the sea after treatment must have an oil content that does not exceed 15 mg/L (parts per million), with a maximum measurement on any day of 42 mg/L and a monthly average of less than 29 mg/L. The discharge temperature must not exceed three (3) degrees Celsius of the ambient (surrounding) seawater temperature within a 100-meter radius of the discharge point.
“Despite these low risks, the EPA is committed to leading practice management of PFW in the Guyana EEZ. We receive live feeds of the PFW releases from the FPSOs and monitor those constantly. We also undertake independent water quality sampling to ensure our standards are met,” said EPA executive director Khemraj Parsaram.
The EPA said despite its close oversight, it is committed to increasing its monitoring of discharges from the FPSOs and developing an independent review of the monitoring data with the help of international experts.
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