Latest update November 29th, 2024 1:00 AM
Gaskin to challenge Exxon’s “illegal” contract before end of October
Social Activist Ramon Gaskin says that his intended challenge to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the Stabroek Block, which he insists is illegal, will be filed before the end of October. He made this revelation in an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News.
Ramon Gaskin
Gaskin also said that the contract will be challenged on the grounds of twelve issues that were pointed out to be inconsistent with the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act of Guyana.
Gaskin explained to this publication that many are criticising the PSA Guyana signed with ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), but no action has been taken to have it changed or renegotiated.
“It’s all talk and no action,” Gaskin said of previous criticisms of the contract.
During a recent forum, Attorney-at-Law, Melinda Janki, read the provision in the contract which states “Except as may be expressly provided herein, the Government shall not amend, modify, rescind, terminate, declare invalid or unenforceable, require renegotiation of, compel replacement or substitution, or otherwise seek to avoid, alter, or limit this agreement without the prior written consent of contractor.”
Simply put, Janki said that there is no chance of the contract being renegotiated.
However, Janki and Attorney-at-law Christopher Ram, who was a member of the audience, both agreed that law takes precedence over any contract. This means that if there are illegalities in the contract, then it would be deemed necessary to challenge those illegalities and bring the contract into conformity with the laws of Guyana.
With this being explained, Gaskin said that he was advised that a judicial review of the contract would cost $1M. At that very moment, he pledged $100,000 to the cause and was supported by persons in the audience who began to leave their seats with $1000 bills and $5000 bills to contribute towards the challenge of the contract.
When asked whether or not he will achieve his goal in bringing about a change by challenging the illegalities of the PSA.
His response was that it is most likely that Exxon will file for appeal, “they won’t go down without a fight… But we will keep fighting until we are successful”.
He reiterated that he is positive because there are enough grounds to challenge the contract.
The activist pointed out that the agreement says royalty is payable only if produced and sold, but the Petroleum Act, Chapter 65, says that royalty must be paid upon production obtained.
He explained that, “the verb obtained is very different from the verb produced”.
“This implies that the contract is clearly in breach of the Petroleum Act,” stated Gaskin
He reminded reporters that this is just one of many illegalities of the contract that will be challenged.
It was at a forum called ‘A Fair deal for Guyana- A Fair Deal for the Planet’ last Thursday at the Critchlow Labour College, Woolford Avenue, that Gaskin made mention of his move to challenge the PSA which was signed between ExxonMobil and the Government of Guyana.
At the forum, the panel, which comprised Ms. Janki, Mr. Gaskin and Vice President of Transparency International Guyana Institute (TIGI), Frederick Collins, all highlighted the many illegalities included in the controversial PSA.
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