Alex Graham orders Exxon official to not answer KN’s question on cumulative impacts of oil projects

Feb 07, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – An eerie form of censorship seems to be making its way into ExxonMobil Corporation’s public scoping meetings for its sixth project. For the third time, members of the media, specifically those from Kaieteur News, were told that their questions regarding the project, are either not relevant to the project in question or they are out rightly refused due to lack of time.

Alex Graham

The willingness of organizers to resist a certain line of questioning first raised its ugly head on Friday last. Exxon held its first scoping meeting for Georgetown at the Umana Yana where it explained how much oil it is going after with a sixth development. There, Kaieteur News was told by moderator of the session, Alex Graham that its questions were not relevant to the sixth project. Those questions pertained to the options for use of excess gas from the project and the insurance policy in place for oil spills.

Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall

At a second session, held in Lenora, this newspaper’s senior journalist was prevented from interrogating ExxonMobil officials on a series of issues since she challenged them on misleading those present on project impacts.

The lynching of hardcore questions was evident for a third time yesterday at the Mahaicony Training Institute when KN Publisher, Glenn Lall was denied a response to his question on cumulative project impacts.

“Has ExxonMobil or its consultant, ERM Guyana, conducted a cumulative impact assessment on the damage and destruction that would befall Guyana, and its citizens? That is my question. I have some more,” is what Lall said.

Graham who was the moderator initially indicated that Lall’s question would be answered. He was keen to note however that there is no time to entertain further questions. The time allotted to question and answer segment he said was nearly exhausted.

Though Lall insisted that he has a few more pertinent questions, Graham maintained, “No, you are done speaking.”

In protest of the clear demonstration of censorship, Lall smacked his left hand against his thigh twice and insisted that his questions are answered since that was the purpose of the public scoping meeting,

Graham at this point shut down the entire meeting as he instructed Exxon’s Projects Manager, Anthony Jackson not to answer the question or any other posed by Lall.

KN Publisher commented following the conclusion of the meeting, the country is heading for dark times if this is the level of treatment that will be meted out to the independent press by a Guyanese moderator.

Exxon’s sixth project, as previously reported, will target the Whiptail, Pinktail and Tilapia discoveries, estimated to hold over one billion barrels of oil resources. The project is poised for startup in 2027-2028 and will produce between 220,000 and 275,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

Scoping meetings for this project continue today at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Training Centre in Berbice.

• Alex Graham, Anthony Jackson, ExxonMobil, Glenn Lall, Umana Yana