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‘Citizens would erupt in massive protest for renegotiation if Exxon updates Stabroek Block resources’ – Patterson
Kaieteur News – It has been 19 months since the last update of the resources in the prolific Stabroek Block, by the operator of the block ExxonMobil Guyana.
The company’s last resource count update, dated April 26, 2022, declared the recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block at nearly 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels, following discoveries at the Barreleye-1, Patwa-1, and Lukanani-1 wells. However, since then, Exxon has announced seven more significant discoveries, yet the resource count remains unchanged.
During the Alliance for Change (AFC) press conference on Friday, Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson suggested a deliberate act by ExxonMobil Guyana in withholding updates.
Patterson expressed his belief that this silence could be a strategic move by the oil major to avoid an intensified public pressure for renegotiation of the lopsided Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) if the true magnitude of discoveries is appraised and made public.
Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson
In fact, he said, “There have been four discoveries for the year already and our proven reserves have not raised from 11 billion barrels and I think that this is deliberately done, if Guyanese are clamoring every single day for a renegotiation when we only have 11 billion barrels proven reserves, imagine the clamor and the outcry when they (Exxon) actually finish appraising these wells and it jumps from 11 billion barrels to say something like 40 billion barrels and the true magnitude of what Exxon has already discovered becomes known.”
Patterson stated that it is time that the government compels Exxon to appraise the oil wells and provide transparent information. He also accused the government of supporting Exxon’s alleged secrecy, emphasizing the need for informed decisions.
Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo was on Thursday questioned about Exxon’s reluctance to update oil resources and he deflected the inquiry to Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat.
Experts like Patrick Harrington from S&P Global Commodity Insights have said that he believes that the Guyana’s oil reserves in the Stabroek Block “are much bigger than that.” Harrington made the comment during a podcast by S&P Global titled, “Guyanese Dream: Oil boom in Guyana could transform global crude market.”
During the podcast, Harrington said, “And if you talk about oil reserves, I think Starr (Spencer) was talking about proven reserves of 11 billion barrels in Guyana. A lot of people have told me, you know when I was down there (in Guyana), that’s just a very lowball estimate.”
He continued by stating that while there is an official estimate as it relates to the quantity of oil that is offshore Guyana, Harrington said, “it’s at least double that.”
In making his case, Harrington highlighted that Guyana is next door to Venezuela, a country which has the biggest oil reserves in the world.
“Venezuela has the biggest oil reserves in the world, proven reserves of over 300 billion barrels. So it’s just kind of an unscientific estimate, but it’s easy to imagine that Guyana’s reserves are much bigger than the official numbers,” he added.
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- Alliance For Change (AFC), David Patterson, Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, Stabroek Block
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