Int’l media outfit criticises lack of access to information in Guyana

Apr 23, 2025 News

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…says usually encounters hurdles when articles point to weaknesses of public organisations

Kaieteur News- Independent media outfit, InfoAmazonia, has complained about the lack of access to information in Guyana, following failed efforts to acquire information from the government on Guyana’s developing oil and gas sector.

InfoAmazonia, according to its website, uses maps, data, and geolocalised reports to tell stories about the endangered Amazon region. The organisation had sent a team to Guyana back in November 2024 to interview key whistleblowers from the oil industry and scrutinise lawsuits and reports revealing ExxonMobil’s environmental violations in the area, according to an article it subsequently published on April 8, 2025.

The entity had reached out to the Office of the President, seeking specific information on flaring and the possibility of an oil spill and its consequences, stemming from the operations of American oil giant ExxonMobil in the Stabroek Block.

In an invited comment, InfoAmazonia told Kaieteur News, “Our reporter sent questions to the Guyana Government on February 4^th 2025, but we haven’t heard back. We even sent messages to the official Instagram profiles, but we still haven’t heard back. In no way did we consider publishing the story without hearing from the government and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but they haven’t responded either.”

The entity said it observed that President Irfaan Ali’s official profile was very active and also utilised that platform to send messages.

Although the government ignored the media outlet’s request for information, the EPA issued a statement to the media on Tuesday, following the publication of the article. It denied several statements included in the InfoAmazonia report.

To this end, the media outlet said it is open to hearing from the government and publishing its responses.

Furthermore, it explained that Guyana’s refusal to respond to its queries was not unfamiliar to the agency, though this is more likely to occur when articles highlight weaknesses of public organisations.

“The lack of official responses is not exclusive to Guyana; we have experienced similar situations in other Amazonian countries where we work. And this difficulty in communication occurs particularly when articles point to weaknesses or failures on the part of public organisations,” the agency told Kaieteur News.

This revelation comes at a time when Guyanese have been protesting against the lack of access to information locally, as the appointed Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson SC, has consistently failed to provide information requested by a number of Guyanese.

EPA responds

Meanwhile, in a statement to the media on Tuesday, the EPA said it noted several misleading and inaccurate claims, regarding its role in regulating Guyana’s offshore oil and gas sector, in a recent article published under the headline, “ExxonMobil helps Amazon nation Guyana build ‘petrostate’, while people stay poor,” and dated April 15, 2025.

The agency said, “Contrary to the article’s claim that ExxonMobil was allowed to ignore environmental licensing conditions, the EPA reiterates that Guyana’s official policy is zero routine flaring. This position has been consistently upheld since offshore production began.”

It said in response to litigation filed against the EPA regarding the 2021 permit amendment for Liza Phase 1, the High Court of Guyana ruled in favour of the EPA in October 2023.

“The court confirmed that the agency acted lawfully and within its mandate when it modified the permit to ensure stronger regulatory control over flaring,” the agency noted.

The EPA categorically rejected any suggestion that it failed to act against violations or has enabled environmental harm, as there has never been any evidence of this.

Meanwhile, the agency argued that contrary to claims in the article, it has not excluded indigenous or local communities from environmental decision-making. In fact, it pointed out that it has ensured national consultations as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, conducted for each oil project to date.

Additionally, the EPA said it has invested significantly in modernising its capacity to monitor and regulate the petroleum sector through a number of initiatives, including a satellite-based monitoring system that allows 24/7 surveillance of Guyana’s offshore operations, making Guyana the first Caribbean country to deploy this technology.

“EPA’s work over the past four years demonstrates a clear commitment to upholding environmental law, safeguarding public health and managing natural resources sustainably in the context of oil and gas development in Guyana,” the agency noted.

 

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• Access, EPA, InfoAmazonia, information, President, response

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