What Exxon is doing with Payara is what it did to Trotman in 2016 - Chris Ram

What Exxon is doing with Payara is what it did to Trotman in 2016 – Chris Ram

Aug 19, 2020 News

Because Trotman fell for Exxon’s ploy in 2016, Guyana is stuck with a very onerous contract, according to Ram; one that the oil major and its partners continue to boast about.

Former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman

Anti-corruption advocate, Christopher Ram last evening pointed out that what ExxonMobil is currently attempting to do with the Payara project is what it did to former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman when it pressured him into signing away a contract with unfair terms, against expert advice and with little negotiation.The attorney-at-law made these comments on the first edition of Kaieteur Radio’s newest show, Corruption, Governance and Justice, hosted by Kiana Wilburg.
“We know that Exxon bullied Trotman and the APNU government and they incompetently allowed themselves to be bullied,” Ram told Wilburg.
He said that the best spin one could put on that situation, avoiding the spectre of corruption, is that there was gross incompetence on the part of Trotman and the APNU+AFC Government.Global Witness had published a report earlier this year, confirming the reportage of this newspaper over several years; that the Stabroek Block agreement is lopsided and will result in significant value leakage for Guyana.

Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram

President Irfaan Ali

The anti-corruption watchdog said that Trotman’s signing away of 6.6 million acres of Guyana’s patrimony was done on a lavish Exxon-paid trip to its Texas headquarters. Its findings were so concerning that it recommended an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the award, and renegotiation of the terms. The non-governmental organisation even reiterated its recommendations recently.
This time around, ExxonMobil is pressuring the newly installed PPP/C government to grant swift approval for Payara, its third intended development in the Stabroek Block.
The multinational has attempted to convince Guyana that it will lose out on billions if it takes its time to properly review the Field Development Plan (FDP) for Payara, and that there are “weather conditions” that could hurt a sound investment.
“Now, we don’t have winter in Guyana,” Ram said. “It’s not like they had to have it because the weather would have changed [in 2016]. The tide is not going to change. So, it was really a repetition of what they succeeded with in the case of Trotman.”
Because Trotman fell for Exxon’s ploy in 2016, Guyana is stuck with a very onerous contract, according to Ram; one that the oil major and its partners continue to boast about. His view is that the contract, riddled with illegality and lopsidedness, should be renegotiated.
Of Exxon, Ram said, “You knew everything what you were doing, and you took advantage of the gullible APNU+AFC administration.”
The lawyer told Wilburg that there is an opportunity now for President Irfaan Ali to persuade Exxon and its partners that the contract as it is cannot stand, and to correct its deficits.
Ram said that, despite the contributions of the US and other sections of the international community in protecting Guyana’s democracy over the last five months, Guyana must say that it reserves the right to not be rushed, and to undertake a proper review of the contract and the Payara FDP.
“They cannot appear,” he stated, “to be totally insensitive to Guyana and I’m hoping that good sense will prevail.”