‘PPP a proven utensil of big oil’- civil society group

Jul 26, 2022 News

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Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana has proven to be a utensil of oil companies, striking out a Motion that was intended to secure full liability coverage in the event of an oil spill.

This view was shared by Our Wealth, Our Country (OWOC)- a recently launched civil society group that has been lobbying for changes to be made to oil contract with ExxonMobil.  The group said, “The PPP Government has let down the nation once again in securing good governance, transparency, and accountability in the oil industry. We say shame on the Government for acting as willing lackeys and utensils of big oil. Our Wealth, Our Country and Guyana deserves better!”

The body said it was baffled that the government chose to kill the Opposition Motion that was filed by the Shadow Oil and Gas Minister David Patterson. According to OWOC, “The PPP Government should know that its posture in defeating the motion is not sticking it to the PNC, it is sticking it to the Guyanese people and nation, and prostituting our interests.”

It reasoned that while the former A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) party would have signed the “sellout” and “giveaway contract” and did not institute appropriate safeguards for environmental protection, it has, as a responsible Opposition, a duty to be concerned about the safety of the nation as oil operators up production to high levels. “Therefore, we applaud the PNC for filing this motion,” OWOC noted, adding that “The PPP must be concerned about its sordid record of doing everything to support the interests of the oil companies, and arraying itself against the best interests of the nation.”

The civil society body reasoned that the government has a responsibility to protect the safety and security of the entire country and was keen to highlight that in about five years time, once oil production reaches one million barrels per day, the risks for environmental harm would increase significantly.

To this end, the oil activist group argued, “A nationalist Government would want to stand on the side of the people to make the oil operators accountable and require them to provide adequate insurance coverage. You would least expect that your Government will take a position that essentially says, “we don’t want full coverage protection in the event of oil spills.” We ask where else in the world would a Government take such an antinationalist position, showing callous disregard for the safety of the nation, and the protection of fishing grounds and livelihood of farmers and others who operate close to the coastline, and are likely to be affected in the event of a spill?”

The group did not spare the Ministers that debated the Motion in the National Assembly on Thursday evening. It was the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat that led the arguments against the Motion. Also contributing to the debate from that side of the House were Sanjeev Datadin, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar and Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn. OWOC said that the “spurious” arguments from the Government’s side are disappointing.

Patterson’s Motion, that was debated in the National Assembly late Thursday evening, sought to not only include full unlimited liability coverage for oil spills and other disasters related to petroleum production, but also direct the Government of Guyana to conduct an independent analysis on the possible ill effects of an oil spill, and present this report to the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources to be used as a reference for all other future oil development submissions.

In throwing this request out, the government’s side argued that the Motion was meant to drive investors away; that it could increase the cost of an oil development; that no investor in their right mind would agree to such a policy and that it is normal for there to be risks in any development.

In addition, Minister Bharrat in setting the tone for the government’s reaction to the Motion, said that the administration is aware of how devastating an oil spill can be; hence provisions have been made to ensure such an activity does not occur. Even if it does, he assured that the oil company has been required to import a capping stack to lay on standby, in the event of such an occurrence. A capping stack is a piece of equipment that is used to place over a blown out well as a cap to prevent further damage that may have been caused.

Our Wealth, Our Country is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that was launched on March 20 of this year, setting out to challenge the country’s leaders to ensure citizens benefit from a better contract with oil giant, ExxonMobil. Since its launch, more than 500 persons joined the group.

 

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