Guyana, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has received approximately $930 million—or US$4.5 million—in payments from ExxonMobil for the flaring of gas at the Liza Phase One operation in the lucrative Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana.
The figures, initially released by petroleum website, OilNow, were confirmed by Head of the EPA, Kemraj Parsram, who emphasised that the money collected is “cumulative.”
He reminded that the penalty for flaring is US$45 per tonne.
The payments for flaring are being made in accordance with the Polluter Pays Principle (PPP), as specifically outlined in Guyana’s Environmental Protection Act implemented in 1996.
Gas flaring essentially refers to the more than one and a half century old burning of natural gas during the oil extraction process.
