Latest update June 14th, 2025 12:49 AM
Dr. Adams accuses Jagdeo of being scared of asking Exxon to renegotiate deal
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
Alliance For Change (AFC) executive member Dr. Vincent Adams
Kaieteur News – Alliance For Change (AFC) executive member Dr. Vincent Adams has accused Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo of being afraid to ask ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) to renegotiate the oil contract governing the Stabroek Block operations despite promising to do so while in opposition.
Dr. Adams at the AFC’s press conference on Friday noted that Jagdeo has shifted the blame on the previous APNU+ AFC coalition government who signed the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the oil giant. He then outlined that the PPP government signed previous contracts with the oil giant containing the same terms as the Stabroek Block PSA that the party is now vilifying.
He accused Jagdeo of breaking his word to the public by refusing to renegotiate the contract after returning to office. He also outlined that despite the contract catering for the government to ask Exxon to make changes to the contract, the PPP government are now hiding behind “sanctity of contract.”
Dr. Adams noted, “He said they sold us out to the foreigners. Every time there’s a find out there, our people should be sad, because nothing comes our way…and suddenly, when he gets into office, he’s hiding, his tune changed to sanctity of contract, fearing to even ask Exxon to renegotiate the contract.”
Back in 2019, Jagdeo while being interviewed on 94.1 FM said, “They sold us out to the foreigners – the oil companies. Every time there is a find there, our people should be sad because nothing comes our way. We are going to renegotiate those contracts because that’s not what we had in mind. When we were in the early days, we were coaxing the people (ExxonMobil and partners) to go along. They (APNU+AFC) came into office (and met) 3 billion barrels of proven reserves and then gave up zero royalty, no taxes, no ring-fencing, no local content for these people to spend any money here.”
He continued: “Paying our people GY$72,000 a month when the foreigner is getting US$10,000. Bringing water from California to drink here. We are paying for all that. Landscaping – they wanna contract it to a company coming from abroad and the Trinidadians and others are just walking in not only in the oil sector but they are getting all the prime lands too… So that is why I got back into politics. I’m not prepared to see this happen; I have no desire to be President again.”
Although Jagdeo’s comments at the time were focused on the lopsided nature of the Exxon contract, he now claims that the statements were meant for the other oil blocks.
Currently, ExxonMobil, the operator of Guyana’s resource rich Stabroek Block is the only producer of oil in the country.
In the meantime, government has said the Stabroek Block holds approximately 11.6 billion barrels of oil. Exxon has been given the green light for six projects to date; three are already in operation, producing over 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) currently.
Guyanese have been demanding a renegotiation of the terms of the oil contract since the deal mostly favours the contractor. For instance, Guyana receives 2% royalty, one of the lowest known across the industry. Exxon and its contractors are also exempted from paying taxes. Meanwhile, each month, the oil companies can deduct up to 75% of Guyana’s oil to recover its investments. The oil companies still benefit from the remaining 25% which is split evenly with Guyana as profits.
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Pic saved as: Adams
Caption:
Pic saved as: Jagdeo
Caption: Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
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