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Govt. should slap Exxon with financial penalties for abusing Guyana’s oil profits – AFC
Kaieteur News – In light of the barefaced abuse by Exxon Mobil on Guyana’s oil revenues, the Alliance for Change (AFC) says the government should have financial penalties in place to be instituted against the oil company for the misappropriation of revenues from the industry.
Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson
At a press conference on Friday, APNU+AFC Member of Parliament and former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson said monetary fines should be instituted against the oil company if it repeatedly abuses the country’s oil revenues. “If you take money out again to do PR in the third audit, obviously they have no respect for the process and laws of Guyana. If it was done once and it happens again, in the third or fourth, you must definitely do something about it, so monetary fines would be appropriate.”
Patterson said that the monies belong to Guyana and that the oil company has inappropriately spent it as recent financial audits have exposed. He said according to the country’s law, “if somebody misappropriates, there are fines, the money is supposed to be in our cost bank already.”
Patterson noted that on top of fining Exxon, the government should be charging the company interest, according to the Bank of Guyana, for not being able to get its hands on money from the sector. “In the future, should this happen, there must be penalties, because they can’t keep doing the same thing, getting away with it and we keep accepting it as business as usual.”
He said that too, that in future, “we should be saying to them, look these are the clear guidelines, and, by now the second audit, these are the clear guidelines of what you can have, and, what you can’t. What you can spend and what you can’t spend.”
He noted that when the Petroleum Activities Bill was tabled in the National Assembly, the Opposition had, “ensured that future developments, sixth {oil development} and onwards fall under the new Petroleum Activities Bill, which would have enshrined in our amendments affixed increased royalties, instituted ring-fencing, and, other such matters.”
The former government minister said that the Opposition added in total 35 amendments to the legislation to enhance the operation of the oil and gas sector, however, they were all rejected by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government side of the House.
“If the bill with the amendments had passed then the sixth oil development would have fallen under that new regime. I see Exxon already indicated that they don’t agree with the draft PSA, production license that the government has, and no doubt the government should bend over backwards to adjust it to Exxon’s need. That’s why we wanted it in our laws as opposed to something that can be negotiated,” Patterson said.
He said that the money from the audits could have gone a long way in boosting the country’s economy, and it should have been reflected in the country’s national budget by now.
Patterson reiterated that there is need for financial penalties to be made against the oil company. “I would think we would have placed a fine in them appropriate for not allowing the Guyanese public access to the money and then obviously they should be fined if they knowingly transgress that again.”
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- abusing, Alliance For Change (AFC), David Patterson, Exxon Mobil, Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, penalties
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