The TIGI claim was far from the truth

Jun 04, 2018 Letters

Dear Editor,
Transparency Institute Guyana Inc’s (TIGI) claim that the government awarding ExxonMobil 600 blocks rather than 60 was a “breach of regulations” and caused “material harm to the country” could not be further from the truth.
TIGI’s feature in Stabroek News was a rambling, unintelligible gripe against ExxonMobil and the government; nothing more. If you actually read into their claims, this much is clear. In fact, it only takes an ounce of commonsense to see that the government’s decision to let ExxonMobil keep the Stabroek Block was not only well within its rights but also a strategic move…that worked!
The Petroleum Act of 1991 grants the Minister of Petroleum certain discretionary powers in awarding these contracts. These powers were exercised in the 1999 agreement as well as the 2016 agreement. Minister Raphael Trotman was well within his rights to maintain the acreage awarded to ExxonMobil by the Jagan Administration in 1999. Furthermore, context is critical to understanding why the government chose to do this.
In 2013, the Venezuelan navy seized an exploration vessel called RV Teknik Perdana which was conducting seismic studies for Anadarko Petroleum in Guyanese waters. This incident with Venezuela made exploration near the western border a matter of national security.
The Executive President has broad powers regarding national security. In this capacity, the decision to allow ExxonMobil to keep the full 600 blocks was yet again well within the rights of the government.
TIGI also claims that the government should have only awarded ExxonMobil 60 blocks and then auctioned off the rest to other companies. Again, this claim makes no sense in context.
Firstly, the full extent of our resources was not realized at the time. Secondly, the Venezuelan threat was far too serious for other companies to be interested. Combine those two things and you see why ExxonMobil was alone. Speaking on the Stabroek Block, Minister Trotman said, “except for Exxon showing the backbone and the courage to go there, no other company is interested.”
I’m a businessman, so I know the answer to this question, but I ask TIGI, how exactly do you sell something that no one wants?
There are companies that are interested in exploring near the Guyana-Suriname border but only ExxonMobil is willing to face the threat to the West. TIGI’s claims do not reflect this reality. Development of our natural resources will be hugely beneficial to all of Guyana. Everyone in our country will see and feel these benefits. But, if it wasn’t for ExxonMobil’s determination, none of this would be possible.
Instead of hypothesizing about nonsense, we should be celebrating what will be.
Yours Respectfully,
Selwyn Paul

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