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Norton wants more from Exxon’s oil contract but not prepared to renegotiate deal
Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton
Kaieteur News – Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton said he believes the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil can be amended for Guyana to benefit more, however he is unwilling to engage in a “renegotiation” of the deal.
He gave these remarks during a press conference on Thursday in response to a question from Kaieteur News. This publication had asked the politician whether Guyana should capitalise on Trinidad and Tobago’s offer to help renegotiate the contract. In his response, the leader said the country should always be disposed to utilising the advice of other nations, but this does not mean that it should be subjected to the term ‘renegotiation’.
Norton said, “I have said from the inception that we believe the law the contract provides for us to engage Exxon to get a better deal for the Guyanese people. We have no problem with that. I have also said that no one will choose our language; we are not compelled to say renegotiate. It has connotations way past its appearance and so I want to make it very clear, no one is going to choose the language we use on this question.”
On Tuesday, during energy conference hosted at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston Trinidad Minister of Energy, Stuart Young extended that country’s expertise to help Guyana renegotiate the lopsided deal it signed with the American oil major.
Young told the conference, “We in Trinidad and Tobago have spent the last seven years, after dealing with decades of contracts, renegotiating almost all of our contracts in the gas industry.” To this end, he said, “It can be done, so our ability to sit down right across the aisle and to share with those who are now entering into the negotiations of their PSCs (Production Sharing Contracts), their E&P (Exploration and Production) Licenses etcetera should not be underestimated, because we have done the same thing in our gas supply contracts for the upstream.”
The T&T Minister noted that each and every contract negotiated augurs better in direct revenue for the people of Trinidad and Tobago, but perhaps more important is that investors there have not left the country. “They continue to invest because it is all about respect and fairness of relationships and I offer that here to Guyana and to Suriname in a collaborative approach because you see I am convinced that [we can] work together to change the dynamics…” he said.
Stemming from Young’s comments, Norton said that while “some people” are not receptive to the principle of ‘sanctity of contracts’ it is a reality of international law. He therefore indicated, “I am not going to be influenced by loose comments and join loose comments. Our comments will always be well thought out. We have an Oil and Gas Committee that sits and discusses these issues and we make pronouncements based on our discussions.” He continued, “We are disposed to obtaining assistance from all who can help but that doesn’t permit them to use the language we choose in explaining what we want to explain and the message we want to get over to our people and the international community.” Guyana’s oil deal with ExxonMobil has been widely criticized by the former administration that signed the contract as well as the present government. Both sides of the political divide are however unwilling to engage in a renegotiation of the contract.
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