Greenidge distances self from ‘lopsided’ Exxon contract

Jun 28, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Former Minister in the coalition administration, now advisor to the incumbent government, Carl Greenidge, has denied any role in the signing of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between the Guyana Government and Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) and their partners.
He was at the time responding to a recent article in this publication under the caption, “Contract on 2% royalty misleading as Guyana bears the burden – Chris Ram”.
In that article, it had attributed statements to Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, who in his warnings in relation to the PSA since 2019 had claimed it is “the inheritance which (Raphael) Trotman, (Carl) Greenidge and David Granger have bestowed on Guyana. What a shame. All that is left for them to do to complete their generosity is to waive the Royalty as they are permitted to do under section 49 of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act”.
As such, Greenidge in rebutting the assertion is adamant, that the decisions informing treatment of the royalty were taken by the Peoples Progressive Party Administration which signed the PSA. According to Greenidge, “I was not the Minister responsible for such matters in 1999 nor was I either the Minister of Finance or Energy between 2015 and 2020. I had no Ministerial responsibility for the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act and was therefore not in a position to be ‘generous’, irresponsibly or otherwise, as alleged or implied by the paper. Yet, the paper and Mr Ram single me out for special mention and indeed notoriety. Neither that 1999 PSA, nor any subsequent PSA, was negotiated or signed by me.” To this end, he insists, “I have (and have had) nothing to do with the legislation or the waiver of these payments, if indeed they have been waived.”

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News