Success Stories & Professional Highlights

The Chad Export Project, a $US 4 billion joint venture undertaking led by ExxonMobil, was designed, constructed, and is now being operated to produce ~1 billion barrels of crude oil from several southern Chadian oilfields for export to world markets via a 1070 km pipeline crossing neighboring Cameroon. Early oil production was realized in July 2003, with full production commencing one year later.

During the six-year planning period, a comprehensive Environmental (and Socioeconomic and Health Impact) Assessment was undertaken, followed by the production of a 20 volume Environmental (and Socioeconomic and Health) Management Plan (ESHMP) that conformed with the World Bank Group's environmental and social safeguard policies.

I was the editor of the bilingual (English & French) ESHMP as well at the author of the majority of its constituent volumes. This effort involved on-going interactions and negotiations with technical experts from the World Bank Group and other lenders, officials from the governments of the Republics of Chad and Cameroon, project-area communities, and NGOs and others stakeholders.

During the four-year construction period, I lead a small technical team that supported the 100+ environmental and socioeconomic professionals who were stationed throughout Chad and Cameroon to put the ESHMP into action. I also facilitated interactions with the environmental and social experts of the lenders as well as the mandated External Compliance Monitoring Group (now referred to as an Independent Environmental & Social Consultant).

Key knowledge/expertise gained

• Environmental and social (and health) expectations and requirements of the World Bank Group

• Stakeholder engagement, particularly socially appropriate interactions with local communities and indigenous peoples

• Establishing a not-for-profit foundation to support conservation activities in two national parks established by the government of Cameroon to offset biodiversity impacts of the export pipeline in sensitive locales

• West-central African archaeology and pre-history

• Protection of primates, marine turtles and other rare/treatened/endangered species

• Individual (damages) and community compensation programs - consultation, design, delivery

• Avoidance/treatment of tropical diseases (particularly malaria) through education, barriers (treated bed nets) and random testing of non-immune workers for compliance with chemoprophylaxis requirements

• Transmission prevention of sexually transmitted infections (including HIV/AIDS), particularly through education

• Production of detailed quarterly reports (posted on the internet) documenting the project's implementation of the ESHMP

Following the major courtroom trials that took place in Alaska in 1994 associated with the Exxon Valdez accident, I joined Exxon's legal team to provide technical and scientific support for Phase II of the litigation effort as well as Exxon's breach of contract lawsuit against Lloyd's of London.

Key knowledge/expertise gained

• Data analysis techniques aimed at formulating and upholding legal positions and in-courtroom lines-of-questioning, from both defendant and plaintiff points-of-view

• Preparation of technical exhibits for in-courtoom use

• Planning and execution of mock trials and analyzing resulting data

• Expert witness selection and preparation

• Real-time analyses of courtroom proceedings to enhance legal strategies

• Detailed knowledge about the Alaskan commercial and sport fishing industry, including fisheries for salmon, herring and other species (e.g., halibut, sablefish, crabs)

• Valuation methodologies for fishing vessels and permits in Alaska

The Gorgon (LNG) Project is a Chevron-operated $54 billion LNG venture located in the Pilbara region of northwest Australia; joint-venture partners also include ExxonMobil (25% interest), Shell (25% interest), Osaka Gas (1.25% interest), Tokyo Gas (1% interest) and JERA (0.417% interest). 

The base project entails a three-train LNG facility located on Barrow Island designed to produce 15.6 million metric tonnes of liquified natural gas (LNG) per year, with the offshore Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields feeding the plant. LNG shipments commenced in 2016.

The gas from the Gorgon field features a significant amount (14%) of carbon dioxide. The Australian government stipulated that this "reservoir" CO2 be recovered and geosequestered during the LNG production process versus being vented to the atmosphere, and this regulatory requirement was an important driver for locating the LNG plant on Barrow Island.

For the past 40+ years, oil production has occurred on Barrow Island, and thanks to the numerous wells that have been drilled, the island's subsurface geology is well-characterized. A detailed analysis of the island's subterranean strata led to the identification of a suitable zone (the Dupuy formation) where the reservoir CO2 recovered during the LNG production process could be safely injected and isolated from the terrestrial environment for geologic time. When fully operational, the Gorgon Project's CO2 injection scheme will be the largest such enterprise in the world.

Although it possesses suitable reservoir CO2 injection capabilities, Barrow Island is also a designated Class A Nature Reserve; it has been referred to as "one of the most important wildlife refuges in the world" and an "internationally important conservation estate". Barrow Island is home to several sensitive and endemic species, one of the world's largest flatback turtle rookeries is situated on its northeast coast, and green turtles feed and nest on the western side of the island.  Coral reefs teeming with a diversity of marine life exist in the waters surrounding Barrow Island.

Not surprisingly, locating a world-class LNG facility on Barrow Island attracted a great deal of attention to the Gorgon Project. Accordingly, the Commonwealth and Western Australian governments subjected the project to the highest level of scrutiny and public review/comment, and this resulted in the need for an unprecedented array of topic-specific management plans to be developed to address the identified ecological risks. 

As part of ExxonMobil's effort to protect its investment in the project, I critically reviewed the extensive Chevron-developed Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Review and Management Program documentation prior to its formal submission to the environmental regulatory agencies. I also undertook detailed technical analyses of the subsequently prepared topic-specific environmental management plans to bring forth recommendations to enhance their reasonableness, implementability, achievability, sustainability and overall success.

Noteworthy plans I was involved with:

• Terrestrial and Marine Quarantine Management System (expectation = "beyond world class")

• Long-term Marine Turtle Management Plan

• Terrestrial and Subterranean Environment Protection Plan and Monitoring Program

• Short Range Endemics and Subterranean Fauna Monitoring Plan

• Marine Environmental Quality Management Plan (includes the protection of coral and coral assemblages)

• Marine Facilities Construction Environmental Management Plan

• Dredging and Spoil Disposal Management and Monitoring Plan