Nondisclosure of ExxonMobil Contract… Anti-corruption advocates rubbish Govt.’s ‘excuses’

Aug 30, 2017 News

Regardless of how many times it is repeated and carried by the media, the APNU+AFC Government

Opposition Member, Juan Edghill

continues to resist all calls to release the contract with US oil giant ExxonMobil.
They have essentially given two reasons for their position.
The first reason that was given was in relation to Guyana’s ongoing territorial issues with Venezuela. In this regard, several government officials are on record as stating that the Government has been ‘advised’ that now is not “an opportune time” to release the details of the contract with the oil company. The Government on this note has also been cautious about the information it releases in relation to petroleum matters.
The second reason that was proffered by the Government was that not only are there confidentiality clauses in the contract which prohibit the release of the contract, but also, nondisclosure laws prevent the Government from making any such move.
Two anticorruption advocates however recently dismantled the Government’s excuse in this regard.
In his recent writings, Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram said that one of the pieces of misinformation in the public relates to the areas or blocks which have been allocated by the Government to operators.
Ram said that this information is available on the internet. He said, too, that the law provides that

Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram

for purposes of licensing and exploring for petroleum products, a reference map of the geographical area of Guyana had been prepared, divided into blocks, each identifiable by a number and/or letter.
The attorney-at-law said that the geographical coordinates and size of every block are also indicated on the map. He reminded that the law even states that if any block extends into a neighbouring country, only the portion that lies within Guyana can be constituted as a block.
Ram said, “And for all those obsessed with secrecy and confidentiality, the law requires that the map be published in the Official Gazette, placed at any office specified by the Minister, and forms part of the Regulations. In other words, whichever friend or foe wanted to know what Guyana is doing in relation to petroleum matters, only needed to scour official sources.”
Also addressing Government’s excuse in relation to the nondisclosure of the ExxonMobil contract was former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran. In his recent writings as well, Goolsarran reminded that the authorities have resisted attempts to release the contract, citing a 1997 amendment to the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act that precludes it from making any such disclosure.
The Chartered Accountant said, “…If we are serious in our commitment to adhere to highest standards of governance, transparency and accountability, how difficult is it to secure a further amendment to the Act to enable the contract to be laid in the National Assembly, thereby making it available to the public?”

Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran

Goolsarran then underscored the importance of releasing the contract, since there have been a number of reports regarding how much Guyana stands to gain in the first few years from oil production.
Kaieteur News recently carried an article quoting Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, who said that based on the projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Guyana can expect to gain some US$380 million or G$78.47 billion annually. Goolsarran said, however, that without the ExxonMobil contract being made available, citizens have no way of knowing how this amount has been arrived at.
Also lending his voice to the issue was Opposition Member, Juan Edghill.
The PPP Executive said, “When you are in the negotiating stage of a contract, confidentiality clauses are necessary, because you are talking… you have competitors and people of other interest looking on. But the issue the APNU+AFC Government is missing is that we are way beyond an exploration agreement. We are in a phase for production and profit sharing. And that is the crux of the matter. Nothing should obfuscate that reality.”
Edghill added, “We don’t want semantics from ministers, we want to see the contract. We need to know what is happening in Guyana. We need a mature discussion about Guyana’s interest.”
The Opposition Member said that most are very much aware of the fact that the investor, ExxonMobil, is simply here to make money. He emphasized that there should be no quarrel about that. In the same breath, Edghill noted too that the investment is also an important one for Guyana and a timely one at that.
However, he stressed that while the investment is needed, that is not to say “you should throw up your arms and tell the company do what you want with me.”
The Opposition Member insisted that a light of transparency needs to be shed on the contract; no excuses.