Exxon says it won’t recover $2.7B donations

Dec 09, 2020 News

Kaieteur News – According to ExxonMobil’s Public and Government Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, the super major has invested some $2.7B in donations to Guyana since it started operations in 2015.
These donations form part of the oil company’s corporate social responsibility, which means that the company has programmes geared to enhance society and the environment, instead of contributing negatively to them.
The $2.7B donation came to the fore after ExxonMobil sought to respond to a story carried Tuesday by Kaieteur News. In the article, it was stated that ExxonMobil had made a $32M COVID-19 donation that it can later take back from the government, as stated in the lopsided contract signed between the Government of Guyana and that US company.
The oil company labeled the article as “disappointing and misleading,” but failed to point out any inaccuracies in it.
ExxonMobil stated that their “contributions have gone to support organizations and people in each region of Guyana,” while adding that “we have helped students and the government adjust to COVID-19, women start businesses, people train for jobs, wildlife organizations study and conserve Guyana’s unique natural heritage, among other causes.”
Very much like its local content investment, ExxonMobil has failed to give a breakdown of the billions it has claimed to have spent for CSR, and according to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the Stabroek Block, signed by the former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), has the privilege of recovering funds that it has channeled into corporate donations.
Though ExxonMobil says it will not recover any of their donations, nothing prevents the super major from approaching the Minister of Petroleum to recover the billions it has claimed to have donated.

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