PPP/C Govt. should renegotiate, investigate ExxonMobil’s exploitative deal

PPP/C Govt. should renegotiate, investigate ExxonMobil’s exploitative deal – Global Witness

Aug 18, 2020 News

Jonathan Gant, Senior Campaigner at Global Witness

As the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) settles into office, one of the world’s foremost anticorruption bodies,Global Witness, has renewed calls for there to be an investigation as well as a renegotiation of the ExxonMobil Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) which robbed Guyana of US$55B.
This significant revenue loss was highlighted in the organization’s February 2020 exposé called Signed Away. That report noted, among other things, that the Stabroek Block deal has bad financial terms thanks to Exxon’s aggressive negotiation tactics with inexperienced Guyanese officials. The Global Witness investigation also showed that Guyana’s lead negotiator – former-Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman – rushed to sign Exxon’s deal despite knowing the company would soon announce new oil find results and while experts were telling him to seek more information.During negotiations, Trotman also suffered an apparent conflict of interest as he was close political allies with one of Exxon’s Guyanese lawyers. The lawyer – Nigel Hughes – has denied he represented Exxon on the deal, but admitted that his firm had represented Exxon since 2009 and that he has worked for the company on other matters.Global Witness was also keen to remind that Exxon’s licence is the subject of ongoing litigation in Guyana, with civil society groups arguing that it is illegal. And in August, the UN Human Rights Committee demanded Guyana both address reports of corruption during the award of Stabroek and state how oil drilling was compatible with efforts to fight climate change.

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

President Irfaan Ali

Even though the lopsided deal sees Guyana being robbed of billions of US dollars, transparency advocates at Global Witness are of the firm conviction that Guyana still has an opportunity to turn its misfortune around. Jonathan Gant, Senior Campaigner at Global Witness, said in a statement to the press yesterday that President Irfaan Ali has a remarkable opportunity to make a new deal that reflects the interests of all Guyanese and not just ExxonMobil. He said that Guyana’s new Head of State is facing a golden opportunity especially when one takes into consideration that ExxonMobil is increasingly dependent upon Guyana’s oil for its success. Global Witness also holds the belief that renegotiating the Stabroek contract with Exxon is possible. Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, Global Witness pointed out that the company was highly dependent upon its Guyanese oil finds. As oil prices have crashed during the pandemic, Exxon has continued to point investors to Guyana as a reason for hope.
In addition to renegotiating the deal, Global Witness strongly advocated for President Ali’s government to investigate the Stabroek deal to determine if it was properly awarded.
The non-governmental organization also noted that Guyana’s recent national elections have exacerbated the country’s divisions, as such, the new government must now seek to heal the country and show the people that it is prepared to both investigate Exxon’s licence and get the deal Guyana deserves.
“Now is the time for President Ali and Vice President (Bharrat) Jagdeo to not only make good on their campaign promises, but to do one better,” said Gant. “Guyana’s oil licences – including Exxon’s Stabroek – should be renegotiated. Guyanese people deserve a better deal. And if the government is not prepared to give them this, then the people should call for these bad deals to be cancelled.”

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