PM pussyfoots over release of Gas-to-Energy documents

Jan 07, 2025 News

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…tells reporters to ask Jagdeo for it

 “Almost every week there’s a lot of information being disseminated on the Gas-to-Energy project but I don’t know if you want a document, so to speak, a written report on the project.”

Kaieteur News- This was the response provided by Prime Minister (PM) Brigadier Ret’d, Mark Phillips on Monday during his end of year press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Center in response to a question from Kaieteur News.

This publication asked the PM to explain what is causing the delay in the release of the GTE documents and to say how soon these would be made public.  The Prime Minister has so far committed on three occasions to provide the documents to Parliament, but was adamant on Monday that he did not know what document Kaieteur News was requesting.

When he was told that the government signed a Heads of Agreement with ExxonMobil since 2022, the PM said, “I am not aware of what you are talking about here but I can assure you that we have been consistently releasing information on the Gas-to-Energy project.”

This newspaper however pointed out that there is still no clarity on the repayment mechanism for the pipeline, since it was previously indicated that Guyana would purchase gas to repay the Contractor, but in another instance, it was explained that the cost would be recovered from Guyana’s oil.

To this end, he explained, “Well I run the risk of giving an answer that is contrary to what has been given already. As you know, in our approach to governance, the Vice President (Bharrat Jagdeo) has the responsibility for the dealing on the finances and matters pertaining to that project and he would have already disseminated information on that project, and I rather prefer that we perhaps defer that question to his press conference, because he is handling information pertaining to it, and he would have been giving on a weekly basis, information pertaining to the finances, etc.”

When reminded of his commitment to table the GTE documents in Parliament, PM Phillips explained that the commitment made to Parliament was to supply information on the timelines associated with the project. According to him, “The commitment to Parliament is about the project itself, in terms of start time, completion time, etcetera.”

He went on to explain that while concerns are often expressed about the financing aspect of the gas project, the government has continuously addressed this and will continue to disseminate information in this regard.

In the meantime, the PM urged, “What is important for the Guyanese people is the benefits of the project and we spend a long time explaining to people that as soon as this project comes on stream and starts producing the power, they will see not only reliable electricity, not only adequate electricity but a 50% reduction in what they are paying for electricity.”

Similarly, when he was asked if ExxonMobil has completed and handed over a Gas Leak Management Plan for the pipeline, he explained that he could not say anything with certainty about Exxon except that the pipeline has been completed. With regards to documents he said, “I will defer it to the Vice President at his press conference.”

Prime Minister commitment

In November, the Prime Minister for a third time promised the National Assembly to lay over the agreement signed with ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) for the GTE project. He also apologised to the House for failing to provide the response and again promised to ensure the necessary information and documents are provided. According to him, this will be laid as soon as possible.

“Mr. Chair, if I had failed in offering my response as requested by the honourable member, let me apologise to this honourable House and I will seek to, in the shortest possible time, honour that request,” the Prime Minister said.

Kaieteur News reported that he assured that the construction phases of the GTE project are insured and related documents can be provided to the House. He was responding to Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) David 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.

The GTE project is divided into two parts, with the first- a 225 kilometers pipeline from the Liza fields offshore to the Wales development site on the West Bank of Demerara- being financed by the Stabroek Block operator, ExxonMobil. This is expected to cost about US$1 billion. The other aspect of the project entails a Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) facility and a 300-megawatt power plant to be financed by the Government of Guyana (GoG) through a loan from the United States Export Import (US EXIM) Bank. The two plants are pegged at US$759 million.

(PM pussyfoots over release of Gas-to-Energy documents)

(Gas-to-Energy documents)

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• documents, GTE, Jagdeo, Prime Minister, Release

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