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Jagdeo fears govt. will be outmanoeuvred by Exxon
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo is of the opinion that the government will be outmanoeuvred by Exxon Mobil, the oil company that has been contracted by the Guyana to conduct oil exploration and production.
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo
Speaking at a press conference yesterday at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Jagdeo was asked a number of questions on the country’s preparedness for the looming oil and gas sector.
He said that ExxonMobil is one of the largest companies in the world, whose profits are greater than the Gross Domestic Product of a number of countries. As it relates to the company’s capacity, Jagdeo said that ExxonMobil probably has more technical personnel than the Caribbean countries combined.
He advised that since Guyana is engaging the company it is important that the country is represented by as many skilled people that have clarity about the negotiation position so as to provide guidance on the way forward.
Jagdeo said that the current team in government that is leading negotiations with the company cannot do so on a technical level. He added that there are persons within the A Partnership for National Unity party that have the technical ‘know how’ to lead negotiations but are not given prominence in the government.
He said that it must be recognised that ExxonMobil will try to get the best deal for itself and as such, Government officials need to protect Guyana’s national interest.
“They don’t have the technical skills. I don’t see any attempt to acquire it. I don’t see the transparency being pursued to allow us to know who the negotiators are, what the negotiating brief is so we can share our views on it. And that can be discussed in committees or smaller circles so that it doesn’t get out wildly. My fear is that they will be hopelessly outmanoeuvred.”
The Opposition Leader said that his opinion is not based on ExxonMobil being some kind of monster but rather that the oil giant will look out for its own interest; hence Guyana must do likewise.
“The ideal thing is that in this partnership, both sides benefit. And that has to be worked on in terms of solid engagement agreements.”
Jagdeo stressed that the government must ensure that the country’s technical capacity is improved so that all agreements and regulations agreed on, that satisfy international standards, can be enforced.
“So it may be of a technical nature; it may be of an environmental nature. This is why we were more supportive of a model of the Petroleum Commission that keeps the Minister far away from it.
“But now, in the parliament, we have a Bill where the Minister can appoint the Board (of the Commission), he can fire the Board, if he doesn’t appoint the Board, he becomes the Board. He will appoint the Chairman, and if he doesn’t appoint the Chairman, he becomes the Chairman.”
Jagdeo said that this model would not allow Guyana to build strong technical capacity.
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