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ExxonM’s project plans cannot be released to the public – Minister Vickram Bharrat
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat during his half-year press conference
…Document “very technical” and contains proprietary information
Kaieteur News – The Field Development Plans (FDPs) outlining the blueprint of the offshore oil projects being developed by American oil giant ExxonMobil cannot be made public, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat has said.
Bharrat told reporters during his half-year press conference on Wednesday that he observed comments from former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson calling on the government “to disclose every single thing” and that “all Guyanese should know”.
Patterson in an invited comment told Kaieteur News that the oil belongs to all of Guyana, so how it is managed should be the business of every citizen – technical or not.
An FDP outlines how a company intends to develop a petroleum field, manage the impact on the environment and society, as well as forecasts for production and costs. These documents are critical to holding both the developer and government to account on the management of the country’s oil resources- the key driver of Guyana’s economy.
To date, six projects have been approved for Exxon, but FDPs outlining the specifications of each project have not been released to the public. This newspaper recently acquired copies of the Liza One and Liza Two projects. Kaieteur News in a previous article exposed with the aid of the FDPs that Exxon was producing well above the design rates outlined for each project, creating fears that the oil could be drained well ahead of the 20-year project life.
The government is however reluctant to release the company’s project plans for the country to see.
Minister Bharrat urged that this was a highly technical document that cannot be released to the public. “I’m not sure if everybody have had an opportunity to see what an FDP looks like, it’s about 1000-2000 pages; that’s the size of an FDP and it’s very technical with proprietary information as well too.”
To this end, he advised that persons with specific questions on the FDPs can submit questions to his office for responses. Be that as it may, he noted that the proprietary nature of some information may prevent it from being shared publicly. To qualify his stance on the matter, Minister Bharrat said he does not believe any other country in the world affords citizens such an opportunity.
On the other hand, he revealed that one FDP has been lodged at the Registry, while the government has made the Licences for each project, along with the Environmental Permits public, which are products of the FDPs.
The Minister however emphasized, “If you have any questions, we are free to provide the information. I don’t know what question will arise from the FDP or what they are looking for but we would be willing to provide the answer.”
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