Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
One –year-old company got contract to monetise Guyana’s gas not only on experience but proposal – Jagdeo
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – The one-year-old company headed by former Vice President of ExxonMobil Jesus Bronchalo was awarded a contract to monetize Guyana’s gas but evaluators not only considered the company’s experience, but the nature of its proposal.
This was explained by Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday during a press conference at Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown. The Chief Policymaker for the oil and gas sector was asked by this newspaper whether he still stands by the company since new information has come to light regarding the expertise of the other bidders.
To this end, Jagdeo said that following the invitation for bids, a technical evaluation team was set up. Subsequently, the VP noted that the bids were evaluated and ranked accordingly; this document was shared with Cabinet by the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.
Jagdeo was keen to note that evaluators did not consider individuals, but the proposals submitted. In fact, he was adamant that politicians were unaware of the affiliation between Fulcrum LNG and Bronchalo, the former Vice President of ExxonMobil Guyana.
“I asked him (Bharrat) did you know that Jesus was part of the bid and he said no and personally I did not know too until after the award was made and I saw him at one of the meetings,” Jagdeo asserted. On the other hand, he informed that the evaluators were aware of Bronchalo’s connection with the company.
Be that as it may, he made it clear that the evaluation team not only assessed the bids on experience of the companies but the specifics of the proposal.
“They were aware of this but they evaluated not just experience, it’s the proposal…you evaluate a proposal, you ask for a proposal, what are the elements of this proposal? You don’t know, you just latch on to one thing- experience,” he argued.
The former Head of State also reasoned that the experience of a company is not only defined by its age but “it’s the experience that they bring in the proposal.”
Jagdeo said global energy companies such as Solaris, ERM, Schlumberger and others were associated with the bid which brings collective experience to the proposal. He therefore noted, “Do they have the requisite experience to develop a project of this nature and the answer in this case is yes, because of these companies, not because of the Jesus guy but the proposal. Two, can they raise the financing for a project of this nature and thirdly, what is the nature of their compliance with the bid document? Have you checked any of these things with the evaluators or the Ministry?”
It was reported that five months after tendering his resignation at ExxonMobil as Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for the Guyana operations, Bronchalo launched Fulcrum LNG in July 2023.
In June 2024 it was announced that the company was contracted by government to design, finance, construct, and operate the required gas infrastructure to provide gas monetization solutions and accelerate upstream gas developments in the country.
Research conducted by this publication revealed that Bronchalo is not only CEO of Fulcrum LNG, but he also wears several other professional caps at the business.
According to company records, seen by this publication, Bronchalo is also Secretary, Treasurer, Director, and President of the company.
From all indications, he has only hired one employee. Kaieteur News discovered that Ivor Ellul has been hired as Technical Director at Fulcrum LNG.
The limited experience of the company has raised serious questions about its capacity to fulfill its contracted obligations. Bronchalo’s company was selected as “the most responsive compliant bidder” among 16 others who tendered to develop the non-associated gas in the Stabroek Block, operated by Exxon.
A deeper dive into the company’s records also led Kaieteur News to the business address of Fulcrum LNG. The energy company operates from what appears to be a two-story guest house located at 937 TAHOE Boulevard, Incline Village, Nevada, USA. Fulcrum LNG, according to company records, operates from Suite 130B.
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