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SARA probe of oil blocks a waste of time – Chamber President
By Kiana Wilburg
GCCI President, Nicholas Boyer
President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Nicholas Boyer, is of the firm view that the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA)’s probe of oil blocks is nothing but a waste of time.
The official made these and other similar remarks at a press conference that was held yesterday at the Chamber’s Waterloo Street office. There, Kaieteur News asked Boyer to say if the Chamber is in support of the probe or not.
He was reminded that the investigation by SARA was first reported by Bloomberg.com which quoted the agency’s head, Dr. Clive Thomas, as saying that the Stabroek, Kaieteur and Canje Blocks, all operated by ExxonMobil, will be part of the inquiry, as well as the Orinduik Block operated by Tullow. The Kaieteur and Canje Blocks were given out by the Ramotar administration just days before the 2015 General and Regional Elections.
Chairman of GCCI’s Petroleum Committee, Charles Ramson Jr.
Considering the aforementioned, Boyer said he believes SARA at this point, is all over the place. He said that if one wants to truly understand how the blocks are supposed to be awarded and regulated, then a policy needs to be developed. Boyer believes that after this is done, it is the place of a Petroleum Commission to review the matter and not SARA.
The Chamber President said, “At this point, we are shooting in the dark. SARA is wasting its time…”
Also commenting on the matter yesterday was the GCCI’s Chairman of its Petroleum Committee, Charles Ramson Jr. The Attorney-at-law emphatically stated that it is improper for SARA to be making preliminary statements on the probe, especially when it is yet to speak to the companies involved. In this regard, Ramson referred to an article that was carried by Kaieteur News this week, which quoted ExxonMobil’s head of Government Relations, Deedra Moe, who said that the firm was not contacted on the matter. This is in spite of the fact that the probe started since last year.
Ramson said, “That should be an internal investigation that is reported on until its conclusion. How this thing is unraveling is almost as if you are looking at an episode of Game of Thrones…”
The Oil Consultant said that the manner in which SARA is handling the issue is dangerous for the investment climate and investor confidence. He said, too, that it is highly improper and totally disturbing.
Overall, GCCI believes that the results of the probe will be a true test of SARA’s competence.
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