Latest update November 22nd, 2024 1:00 AM
Latest News
- Exxon wants new oil block on own terms
- Indian companies eye Guyana’s oil
- ICC issues arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu for ‘war crimes’ in Gaza
- Developing countries should not be curtailed in exploiting natural resources- PM Modi tells Parliament
- Govt- owned Marriott sells VP Jagdeo expired soft drink
Guyanese tax dollars paying for gas project until loan approved – VP Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday admitted that the highly touted Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project has been delayed; however this was not as a result of the lack of financing for the venture.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
He told reporters during his weekly press conference that while the Government of Guyana (GoG) awaits the approval of a US$646 million loan from the United States Export Import (USEXIM) Bank, the project is being funded by the national coffers.
“It hasn’t been approved but we are paying for it from the treasury; we are meeting all of our commitments to the contractor. We haven’t stalled the project or say hold on the project until the loan is approved,” he said.
Jagdeo went on to point out, “I explained here that the loan will be approved, it will be retroactive financing and secondly we have alternatives should this not be approved but right now we had good engagements with EXIM Bank and we expect it will be approved.”
Meanwhile, with regards to the cost of power generation, he said there have been no changes to the 50 percent reduction in consumer bills.
The GTE project entails three components – a pipeline being financed by ExxonMobil, as well as the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant and the 300 megawatt power plant.
Attorney-at-law and civil society activist, Elizabeth Deane-Hughes in a letter dated April 22, 2023 to the US-EXIM Bank flagged seven discrepancies in the project, requesting that the loan being sought by the government to fund the initiative be blocked.
Her points were raised with the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the institution, Reta Jo Lewis. According to the missive seen by this newspaper, that was also brought to the attention of US Ambassador, Sarah Ann-Lynch, Deane-Hughes objected to the loan application by the GoG given the lack of a feasibility study.
The activist in her objection to the loan application pointed out that to date no financial and/or any feasibility study for this project, which involves approximately 25km of on-shore pipeline, has been sighted by the people of Guyana, despite repeated requests for the same.
Further, she advised that a civil court case numbered 456/2023-FDA has been filed in the judicial system, challenging the Environmental Permit (EP) issued to Exxon for the pipeline aspect of the project, on the basis of lack of adherence to the rule of law as is stated in the Environmental Protection Act and its guiding regulations.
Jagdeo had responded to her efforts to block the loan during a news conference last year, urging he is certain the bank would not be influenced by the “naysayers”.
It must be noted that even with the loan application still pending, Exxon is also still to make a Final Investment Decision (FID) for the project, more than a year after it received regulatory Permits.
An FID is a crucial stage in mega energy projects as it’s the final stage to decide whether to go ahead with the project or not. In other terms, it is the final stage to determine if the investment in the project would be beneficial or not.
The company is however progressing with the construction of the pipeline that carries a price tag of US$1B.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A false panacea for electoral integrity
…Peeping Tom kaieteur News – Advocates for fingerprint verification in Guyana’s elections herald it as... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
