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Human Rights breaches in regulatory process for Gas-to-Energy project will be submitted to US EXIM Bank – Civil Society Activist
Kaieteur News – One month after requesting the production forecast for the Liza One and Liza Two projects in the Stabroek Block, which will supply the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project with natural gas, the Government of Guyana remains tight lipped, a clear violation of citizens’ right to access to information.
Civil Society Activist, Elizabeth Hughes
This was recently highlighted by civil society activist, Elizabeth Hughes, who noted that she received neither an acknowledgement nor response from government regarding her latest request for key project details.
The activist was keen to note, “Without the requested information we, the citizens of Guyana do not know the life of the oil fields and its associated gas. Is there a time gap between the life of the fields and the life span of the GTE project?”
Hughes told Kaieteur News that since 2022, she has written in excess of 200 letters in pursuit of information related to the project; however, to date she has not received any.
Consequently, she said, “These are human rights violations in addition to the non- adherence to our legislation…these human rights violations will be highlighted in submissions to (US) EXIM Bank during this 30-day period to request information, submit information, express complaints and concerns or other.”
The government had applied to the United States Export Import (US EXIM) Bank in 2023 for a US$646 million loan to support the construction of the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility and the 300-megawatt power plant. US oil major, ExxonMobil is constructing the pipeline to transport the gas to the facility from the two Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels. The country’s application for the loan is still pending approval.
In February this year, Hughes as well as other activists in Guyana told the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that the Government of Guyana, ExxonMobil and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been violating the human rights of citizens in Guyana during the exploitation of oil and gas.
Hughes who focused her presentation on the GTE project explained to the Commission, “The GTE project in the making in its current format since 2020 lacks a feasibility study for the Wales location with its 25km of onshore pipeline, and there are no updated pre or feasibility studies since the advent of COVID 19 and the Ukraine war which have skyrocketed world prices.”
She pointed out that the human rights of citizens were being breached as there has been a lack of consultation, lack of the right to free, prior and informed consent, failure to provide adequate information, lack of access to any information and non-disclosure of deals for the project.
In her interview with Kaieteur News, the activist said government is still to clarify whether the two projects will wind down oil production activities before the end of the commercial life of the GTE project.
To this end, Hughes noted that without the release of the commercial agreements which government continue to dodge, citizens will be left in the dark on this factor that can further drive up the cost of the venture.
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