Harmon throws support behind Patterson's controversial 'oil blocks' claim

Harmon throws support behind Patterson’s controversial ‘oil blocks’ claim

Sep 22, 2017 News

–says Minister was referring to “offshore” oil concessions

By: Kiana Wilburg

A Map from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) showing the available offshore blocks which are leased to certain companies. The Map also shows some onshore blocks as well as offshore blocks that remain available.

All of Guyana’s oil blocks have not been given away. However, more than half of its available offshore oil concessions are no longer up for grabs by interested investors. Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, made this clarification during an interview yesterday with Kaieteur News.
The need for this elucidation was deemed necessary after Patterson made some controversial and shocking statements at a recently held press conference hosted by the Alliance For Change (AFC). There, the AFC Executive Member had said that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) gave out all of the nation’s oil blocks. He clearly stated that there was nothing left.
But the Opposition wasted no time punching holes into his story. The PPP made it clear that this was far from the truth; that there are available oil blocks.
The controversial nature of Patterson’s statement that “all the oil blocks were given out” was raised at a post Cabinet press briefing yesterday, at the Department of Public Service on Waterloo Street.
Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Harmon, said that when Minister Patterson made the statement, he was referring to “offshore oil blocks.” But Minister Patterson did not specify when he made the initial statement that he was indeed referring to offshore oil blocks and not those onshore.
Harmon said that Patterson, who shares responsibility for the energy sector, is quite capable of explaining himself on the matter.
“When Minister Patterson speaks, as a Minister of the Government, he speaks on behalf of the coalition government. And I am sure that Minister Patterson is quite aware of his statements he made with respect to the offshore concessions.”
“And I don’t know where the Leader of the Opposition seems to have some kind of confusion about it. He knows full well what Minister Patterson is talking about. And Minister Patterson, I know, is technically competent and careful enough to be able to explain that situation again if necessary but Minister Patterson was talking about offshore concessions.”
Minister Patterson yesterday afternoon explained that when he said “all the oil blocks were given out” he did not mean “onshore as well as offshore.”
Patterson said, “I am talking about where the Stabroek Block is, where the oil is. Why would I want to be talking about everywhere? Anywhere could be a block…So I am talking about where everybody wants now, which is close to where the Stabroek Block and the Takatu Block. That is where I am referring to.”
The Minister added, “The total off shore area is 52,000 square miles, approximately 85% has been allocated without any public tender or notice, at least to my knowledge. The offshore blocks are the ones of interest.”

COMPANIES
Further checks by this newspaper at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) revealed that just a month or two before the 2015 General and Regional Elections, two companies received Petroleum Licences.
A license for Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas Inc. was signed on March 4, 2015 for the Canje Block. The licence for RATIO Energy Ltd/ RATIO Guyana Ltd. was signed on April 28, 2015 for the Kaieteur Block. Both of these areas can be easily identified on the GGMC Map attached to this article.

OPPOSITION REFUTES

List of Petroleum Offshore Licencees and their Block Names

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo was the first to reject the oil block statements when they were initially made by Patterson.
In a missive to the media, the former President noted that only 10 licences were issued under the former government, none of which were issued under his tenure. He added that several blocks are still available.
The Opposition Leader had said, “…it is a clever strategy on the part of Patterson not to deal with the substance of what I was saying which is that there is corruption, but to then go and say that Jagdeo gave out all oil blocks and that there is nothing left…
“…Imagine that these people went to a press conference and said Jagdeo can’t be trusted. He is a liar. Then they proceed to lie to the nation that there are no more blocks available when their own government statistics show that there are several blocks available.
“…It is a lie by Patterson. It is incompetence and it is sinister; because now that he says that there is nothing available Jagdeo gave it all out it means that they can secretly give out all the substantial blocks because (as far as the nation knows) there is nothing left.”
Jagdeo is of the firm belief that Patterson was not being honest with the nation.
The Government however is standing by its man, insisting that Jagdeo knows exactly what they are talking about.

2 thoughts on “Harmon throws support behind Patterson’s controversial ‘oil blocks’ claim”

Kassem_B September 22, 2017 at 3:47 am

‘All of Guyana’s oil blocks have not been given away. However, more than half of its available offshore oil concessions are no longer up for grabs by interested investors. Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, made this clarification during an interview yesterday with Kaieteur News.’
Good Lord, is this a clarification from what was said before by the Minister Patterson in his onslaught on Jagdeo, the leader of the Parliamentary Opposition?
Shame on you KN
Dr Nat Khublall September 22, 2017 at 7:18 pm

I made a comment a few days ago regarding Bharat Jagdeo’s reply accusing the Minister, David Patterson, of an incorrect statement on the disposal of all the petroleum oil blocks by the said Jagdeo.

Mr Patterson’s subsequent assertion at the interview with Kaieteur News is not a clarification or elucidation but something different from his earlier assertion at the press conference that all the oil blocks had been disposed of. What Patterson said was not “some controversial and shocking statement” but a factually incorrect statement.

The intervention by the Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Harmon, cannot by any stretch of the imagination rescue Patterson from his predicament. Harmon, said “that when Minister Patterson made the statement, he was referring to ‘offshore oil blocks.’ But Minister Patterson did not specify when he made the initial statement that he was indeed referring to offshore oil blocks and not those onshore.” A person in the capacity of a cabinet minister cannot say “X” and mean “Y”. Therefore, whatever explanation is given subsequently cannot refute what was asserted at the press conference, an incontrovertibly incorrect statement, which (if not refuted) could have serious ramifications on Jagdeo’s credibility. Thus, Jagdeo cannot be faulted for accusing Patterson of making an incorrect statement. My comment above is consistent with that of Kassem B: “Good Lord, is this a clarification from what was said before by the Minister Patterson in his onslaught on Jagdeo, the leader of the Parliamentary Opposition?