Guyana’s political Opposition showcases gross ineptitude on oil and gas matters

May 21, 2023 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

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Kaieteur News – Guyana’s petroleum sector has changed the trajectory of this country, and has tremendously impacted the way the country operates. If the sector is to develop in an accountable manner, it is therefore critical that there be an informed opposition that can hold the government’s feet to the fire on how the resource is being managed. Thus far, Guyana’s political opposition has yet to rise to the occasion.

The Office of the Leader of the Opposition holds weekly press conferences with a panel of representatives led by Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton. While the Leader is extremely critical of the administration, he is yet to prove that the opposition, often regarded as the government in waiting, has the aptitude to address various oil and gas matters.

The most recent press conference is an example of this. After the Opposition read a series of press statements last Thursday, and fielded questions on the content of those matters which included poultry economics, the media sought to solicit comments from the Leader on various oil matters. Instead of providing an in-depth view of their policy positions, Norton and his team, including his Economic Advisor, Elson Lowe and Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul, repeatedly maneuvered away from addressing critical questions. They spent swathes of time continuously pivoting away from the questions posed, and displayed a worrying lack of knowledge of the oil issues they chose to introduce into the conversation.

The first question asked by a Kaieteur News journalist was for the thoughts of the Leader on the government’s recent approval of Exxon’s fifth project. Lowe, to whom Norton deferred the question, said, “We’ve seen yet another approval of a project. This comes within the context of the ongoing court case regarding coverage, full liability coverage for in the event of any oil spill offshore Guyana. And really what one would think is that given that we’re looking at yet another approval, the government would be in a strong position to advocate for Guyana’s environmental rights and to ensure that our country’s interests are protected in this particular case. Of course, the government has gone in the other direction…” 

This opening response broke open the floodgates for various members of the opposition panel to chime in and talk about the matter of oil spill liability, and not the fifth project’s approval. For 17 minutes, the Opposition representatives bounced aimless thoughts off each other concerning the matter of liability for an oil spill, and even cost recovery.

Realising the question was not answered; Kaieteur News sought to more pointedly ask the Leader what he thought of the fifth project of Exxon being approved under the current terms, and whether projects should continue to be approved with the current fiscal regime. 

Norton said he thought it was a good opportunity for Guyana to get more benefits. He also gave a brief lecture on how multinational companies operate, but chose not to give a definitive position on what to do with the Stabroek Block production sharing agreement (PSA). This is the same PSA that has been heavily criticised for the past seven to eight years. He said the party will discuss and agree on a response internally then come forward. Again, several members of the party hijacked the question to make randomised comments on oil matters. One can imagine the absurdity if, during a press conference with Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, a reporter poses a question about upgrades to the National Psychiatric Hospital at New Amsterdam and the Minister suddenly starts talking about heart disease.

The opposition representatives also demonstrated daunting ignorance about oil and gas matters which have been widely reported on. For example, in his random comment on cost recovery, Mahipaul remarked that there is no mechanism in place to verify what goes into oil companies’ cost banks. Readers will remember that firms were hired to audit Stabroek Block pre-contracts costs, and expenses leading up to 2020. Norton, in adding his two cents, said that no capacity building is being done on this front that would allow Guyana to monitor. This is not true either. It has been well ventilated that the most recent contract award for cost audits includes a clause for capacity building of Guyanese auditors. The government has also indicated that work is ongoing to build the capacity of auditors and accountants of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Journalists from Kaieteur News and another media houses continued to pose questions about specific oil and gas matters, but the Leader refused to give concrete positions on anything. Lowe eventually addressed the question of the approval of the 5th project, explaining that the opposition prefers approvals to be spaced out so that Guyana can build capacity to monitor.

To the other substantive questions, Norton said, “We have looked at these issues and when we are ready, we are going to- we are a political party. We will head to an election. We have to time when we say what. And when we begin to do our election campaign, etc., we will state clearly what is it we intend to do, how we intend to do it, and what changes we think are needed in certain areas. Like I just signaled to you, we see no problem in a proper system of ring-fencing.”

While the opposition refuses to give policy positions on critical oil and gas matters, as it waits for the 2025 election, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration has just approved the fifth oil project. The 6th project is currently in the application stage, and the government is likely to review and approve it early next year. By 2025, Guyana will become the world’s largest producer of crude per capita and a global powerhouse in the energy industry. In the same year, Guyanese are expected to know the stance of the political opposition on matters crucial to proper governance of this trillion-dollar sector.

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• Aubrey Norton, Elson Lowe, Ganesh Mahipaul, Member of Parliament, opposition

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