‘We can get a better deal’

Feb 21, 2022 News

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– Citizens protesting lopsided oil deal, lack of insurance hopeful for change
– renew calls for leaders to take action

By Renay Sambach

Kaieteur News – Following a week of street protests against the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) Guyana signed with Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—ExxonMobil Guyana and the lack of full-coverage insurance, citizens remain hopeful that the government will heed their calls and bring the oil companies to the table.

Last week, on the sidelines of the protest in front of the Marriott Hotel where the four-day Guyana Energy Conference 2022 and Business Expo was held, Kaieteur News interviewed some of the protesters to hear their views on the renegotiation of the heavily criticised PSA and the lack of full coverage insurance.
As it relates to the Stabroek Block PSA, Guyana’s Vice President, Bharat Jagdeo has repeatedly bashed the APNU+AFC administration for the poorly renegotiated Stabroek Block PSA. He has even been quoted in the media as saying that the agreement which was signed with ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, EEPGL, Hess Corporation and CNOOC Petroleum Limited, is a “contract that would harm us for decades into the future” and even accused the APNU+AFC of having “sold our patrimony” to Exxon. However, the Vice President is not the only one who has criticised the deal. The PSA has faced heavy criticism, from both local and regional actors. Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, is also on record calling the PSA, one of the most lopsided agreements signed in the country’s history.
Moreover, insurance plays an important part in the lives of many. To avoid putting yourself in debt and to safeguard one’s self, most people ensure they secure insurance for themselves and loved ones. It is against this background that citizens are questioning the wisdom of the government in approving new oil fields for ExxonMobil and its partners without first securing full-coverage insurance to protect the country in the oil and gas sector.

Just recently, the American oil giant, ExxonMobil Corporation, announced that it has commenced oil production at Guyana’s second offshore development area called Liza Phase Two in the Stabroek Block. However, Guyana does not have full coverage insurance from the companies operating in its backyard.
Sherod Duncan, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP)

RENEGOTIATION
“Yes, yes, we should. I think we had, we had more discoveries since the PSA [Production Sharing Agreement] was signed in 2016. We have had more discoveries and we have a better opportunity to use all of that leverage. ExxonMobil needs us more than we need them right now.”
“As you know, these guys were on the brink of being bankrupt, but it is our oil and the wealth derive there from it, that they are depending on to get their company through this period and we know Covid-19 has made it very bad for a lot of companies, and theirs was one of them and they are depending on us and I believe that we can get a better deal out of it.”
“Whether it’s the royalties, whether it’s the cost recovery, issues like ring fencing and the insurance coverage, as well. We can get a better deal.”

INSURANCE
“Yes, yes, because we have seen in recent memory we have seen an African country that produces oil the way we do.

They had an oil tanker explode with 60,000 barrels just about two weeks ago and that has been all over the news. Can you imagine the damage to the environment?”
“If you think about, if you do issues like news census and so on, the oil spill affects Trinidad and so on and even our own citizens here. What is protecting them? Absolutely nothing, and so a better insurance arrangement definitely could safeguard the people of this country and our neighbors.”
“So one of the themes we saw coming out of this conference, persons are saying the people are who matters, Mia Motley said that, Chandrikapersad Santokhi said that, the President of Ghana said that…we don’t feel as the Guyanese people that our current leaders understand that and want us to benefit from the oil proceeds.”
Odo Best, Head of Movement of Civil Unity

RENEGOTITATION
“I think its way overdue. They taking too long to call for it. It is absolutely necessary.” “Any reasonable business or any smart businessman knows if he has a business of a certain magnitude he needs to have insurance in case of the eventuality, because things do happen, to protect himself and to ensure that the business continues for generations to come.”
“Now, you mean to tell me our government don’t understand this? They don’t understand this, they don’t understand. This is ridiculous, because out of politicians are businessmen, in some form or the other…they’re businessmen.”
“So I do understand what kind of thinking that they having…when they time up or when they gone we got to deal with it, so here what happen, we dealing with it now.”
Martin McLennan, clothing vendor

RENEGOTIATION
“What I have been saying is that we need to renegotiate the oil contract. Also we need a fair share from the oil money.” “The government should have full-coverage insurance to safeguard us.”
Juretha Fernandes, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP)

RENEGOTIATION
“In Guyana right now what we are seeing out here for example…the people are calling for a renegotiation of the contract and an effective government. A responsive government all together, needs to listen to the call of the people.” “If the people are calling for a renegotiation of the contract that is the direction the government has to go in, especially now that we have so many other discoveries coming on board. The government has the responsibility to come out and have consultations with the larger stakeholders. That is the people of this country and the people of this country by and large are saying that they want a renegotiation of the contract, so we have to listen to the voices of those people.”

On the issue of full coverage insurance, Fernandes said: “I think the full-coverage insurance is something that we definitely need because Guyana is a small country, we are a developing nation, we are now getting off the mark when it comes to development.” “There are so many commentary coming out, even the president as it is, has spoken that this is the first time we have capital resources to do what we have to do and to not have full-coverage insurance is putting us in a very dangerous position, so most definitely we should be getting full-coverage insurance.”
Melina Harris, Journalist

RENEGOTIATION
“Absolutely. There are so many terms in the contract that are incompatible with local laws, with international principles and with international best practices. There are terms that are offensive to Guyanese. It does not reflect that ownership of the resource belongs to us and there are too many things that have to change for the contract to even be legally valid. So absolutely it has to change.”
“Yes, and it’s a shame that the government hasn’t already got full coverage insurance in place because the operations are so dangerous. They carry such a high risk of accident that if you don’t have insurance, the country, the citizens, the taxpayers, me and you, will have to pay for whatever damages occur when the lawsuits from our neighbors come. Guyana will become bankrupt because we don’t have the funds or finances to pay for any of those things.”
“So they have to get full coverage insurance because it’s absolutely necessary.”

 

 

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