Latest update June 3rd, 2026 12:40 AM
Guyanese forced to pay millions in legal fees for GTE project - AFC
─ over Govt’s failure to conduct adequate studies
Kaieteur News- With over $350 million spent so far on legal fees for the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project, the Alliance For Change (AFC) said the government’s failure to conduct adequate studies has been costing Guyanese millions.
This was highlighted by former Minister of Public Infrastructure and party chairman, David Patterson during a recent press conference.
Responding to questions from this newspaper regarding the legal fees paid so far by the state for the project, Patterson first expressed satisfaction that the information requested in the National Assembly was provided by the Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, who holds responsibility for the energy sector.
AFC Chairman, David Patterson
He, however, pointed out, “It shows you the complete lack of preparation in the project. These legal fees are a direct result of a lack of studies (and) lack of proprietary work before the contract was signed.”
Patterson recalled when the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) took office, monies were allocated in the National Assembly for geotechnical and other studies relative to the GTE project; however, he is unaware that the assessments were conducted.
Consequently, the Member of Parliament (MP) said when the contractor attempted to conduct activities at the location, it discovered that the site was “inadequate”. Patterson believes that this led to the government losing the arbitration case with the contractor, Lindsayca/ CH4.
“If the government had done what they said they would have done, done their studies, prepare for this project, it would not have ended up where it is, and we would not have been paying this almost US$1.6 (million) and that’s only the first part because they are going back again to arbitration which they will lose again and all these costs add up to a failed project.”
Last month, Kaieteur News reported that a whopping US$1,786,322 has been paid to date to a battery of lawyers representing Guyana’s case in the GTE arbitration.
The sum includes a payment of US$22,181 to ‘Universal Court Reporting’ for transcript services for the Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Board (DAAB) hearings.
The document also reveals that US$3,748 was paid for travel expenses to a DAAB hearing for the local legal advisor, Ronald Burch-Smith.
Local legal advisors, Manoj Narayan and Burch-Smith, were also paid US$39,914 and US$30,410, respectively, for land acquisition matters relating to the project.
Meanwhile, the foreign advisors/ experts include Jeremy Glover, Sean Gibbs, Andrew Ness, Neil Hart, Dalton Hale, Mohammad Yadollahi, Yendall Hunter Ltd. and Mark Grasso along with Universal Court Reporting.
Table showing payments made by government to date for the Gas-to-Energy arbitration
The foreign experts were paid a total of US$1,516,246, while the local legal advisors have been paid the sum of US$270,076 to date since 2023.
GTE arbitration
On 31 January 2025, the DAAB issued their ruling on the GTE matter, which government said is bound by confidentiality.
The government did not specify the details of the decision made by the DAAB, following a complaint filed on September 19, 2024.
It was reported that the GTE contractor, Lindsayca/CH4, has submitted two claims to the DAAB. The first claim amounts to US$50M, reportedly related to cost overruns.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo previously explained that the GoG is at odds with the contractor over the delay period.
He explained, “That is where the three months we are arguing, the three-month delay on the project came. They want a longer period because the liquidating damages for not completing the project on time for the contractor, if they don’t complete the project on time, it’s over US$11M per month they have to pay in liquidating damages for delay on the project, so they are arguing they need more time beyond the three months. We are saying three months is adequate.”
Meanwhile, it was reported that the second claim made by the contractor relates to issues relating to the soil. Jagdeo said, “There have been some additional claims by CH4 and Lindsayca, particularly as they relate to the soil conditions, and those would have to go through the technical process to see whether they are justified or not.”
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