Latest update July 17th, 2026 12:08 PM
Govt. hiding Wales gas plant agreements from public
Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson
…MP Patterson says documents will reveal real beneficiaries
Kaieteur News – Agreements for the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project are yet to be laid in the National Assembly despite repeated commitments by government.
This has sparked concern among stakeholders, since it remains the single largest financial project ever pursued by Guyana. Pegged at US$2B, the GTE project is not supported by a feasibility study; the government has also not released any of the agreements inked with ExxonMobil or the other contractors involved in the project.
Since 2022, the government signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the Stabroek Co-ventures that outlines the principles and conditions for the commercial and technical arrangements of the deal. The GTE project includes a pipeline, to be built and financed
by the Stabroek Block operator, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), while the other two components, a 300 megawatt power plant and a natural gas liquid (NGL) facility is being constructed by the government of Guyana. Former Minister of Public Infrastructure and Member of Parliament (MP), David Patterson recently raised concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the project. He explained that Budget 2024 reveals that Guyana has already spent US$400M on the initiative but the country remains in the dark on the deals struck with government and its contractors.
An artist’s impression of the GTE project
Patterson said that since 2022, he asked both the Prime Minister, Brigadier Ret’d Mark Phillips and the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat for the contracts signed with Exxon and others. “In 2022, the Prime Minister wrote back to the Parliament saying not all the agreements have been signed, as soon as all the agreements have been signed, he will lay it over in Parliament,” the former Minister pointed out.
During this year’s Consideration of Estimates for Budget 2024, the Prime Minister again committed to lay over agreements for the project to the National Assembly. He explained that the construction phases of the projects are insured and related documents can be provided to the House. He was responding to MP Patterson on whether insurance is in place for the current works to support the gas plants and whether the government can lay those in Parliament. The PM said, “The EPC (Engineering, Procuring and Construction) contract has its own insurance policy.” When reminded about the latter part of the question, he said, “Certainly Mr. Speaker.”
Similarly, on the issue of Exxon’s pipeline, the PM noted, “I am advised again Mr. Speaker that Exxon has insurance coverage with the contractor, so that is catered for…we will lay it over.” He also committed to providing the total sum expended on the project to date, including costs for the transmission and distribution of electricity, consultancy and substations, among other costs, as well as the agreements signed for the project.
To date however, Patterson said no agreements have been supplied to the House on the project. The former Minister believes that the government is reluctant to table the agreements as these would expose the beneficiaries of the arrangements. He said, “Obviously they don’t wanna lay it because that would unravel where the feed troughs are and how unviable this entire thing is. It would show how corrupt this thing is.”
The government has been reluctant to release documents relative to this project and numerous attempts by the Opposition to seek clarity in the National Assembly have been defeated. MP Catherine Hughes had complained last year that questions submitted by her were not allowed by Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir since these issues were addressed by Head of the GTE Taskforce, Winston Brassington when Guyana hosted its Energy Conference in 2023. This was the fourth attempt by the Opposition seeking details surrounding the controversial GTE project.
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