An Italian oil services company aims to set up a fabrication yard in South Cummingsburg
The area identified for the fabrication yard.
Kaieteur News – Italian oil services company Saipem is expected to build and operate a fabrication yard located at Lot A, Lot B, Mudlot A, Mudlot B and Water Parts from Pitman and Ashley Square, Water and Holmes Street , South Cummingsburg, Georgetown, pending government approval.
The yard and jetty operation will provide direct and indirect employment to over 50 people, Saipem, one of the largest oil services company in the world, has noted. It is anticipated that the project will last at least five years from inception, and will be extended to ExxonMobil and the country’s requirements and projects in the Oil and Gas sector.
According to the project summary found on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, (link: file: /// C: /Users/reporter/Downloads/SAIPEM%20Guyana%20Inc.-%20Project%20Summary%20 (1 ) .pdf), the project will occupy 10,000 square meters of land and will act as a fabrication area for jumpers and other submarine structures to support the oil and gas sector in Guyana.
Saipem outlined that the main operation at this site will be jumper fabrication, which will include handling and erection of the pipe components, welding, inspection and non-destructive testing (including manual and X-ray ultrasonic testing), painting, coating and hydro testing.
In subsea oil / gas production systems, a submarine jumper is a short hose connector used to transport production fluid between two submarine components. In layman’s terms, jumpers are essentially part of a pipeline constructed by joining several steel components by arc welding.
Kaieteur News understands that the yard activities are expected to produce about eight jumpers a month. These jumpers are then loaded onto moored vessels, which are then shipped offshore for installation.
The project summary also highlighted that the welded joints were then proven to be destructive to identify potential defects. After a pressure test, the steel pipes are protected from corrosion by applying protective coatings. The sweaters are then loaded onto a ship and placed at sea. The fabrication operations will require the use of welding machines, grinders, compressors, induction heaters and sand coating guns.
All equipment will be connected to a public electrical network (GPL), but some electric diesel generators have been used as a backup. The handling of jumper and loading parts will be performed through Crawler cranes, truck cranes, forklifts, flatbed trucks and Self-propelled modular carriers (SPMT), the summary added.
For this project, the EPA stated, through public notice, that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is not required for the construction and operation of a waste treatment facility (Bioremediation) for sludge generated from activities in the oil and gas sector.
An EIA is typically conducted by the EPA to evaluate the likely environmental effects of a proposed project or development, taking into account interlinked socio-economic, cultural and human health impacts, both beneficial and detrimental.
However, the EPA stated in its notice, “In accordance with Section 11 (2) of the Environmental Protection Act, Cap 20:05, Guyana Laws, the Agency has screened the application for the project listed above to assessed the potential for environmental impacts, and it was decided that the project will not significantly affect the environment or human health, and is therefore excluded from the requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). “
Be that as it may, it still allows a 30 day period for the public to submit any objections or concerns about the project. Appeals and objections can be submitted to the Environmental Assessment Board at the EPA’s Sophia, Georgetown office.
Proposed fabrication yard layout. (