Nothing in oil contracts bars ring-fencing; PPP/C created all lop-sided contract terms

Jun 14, 2025 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – It is sickening to look and listen to a daily diet of the PPP/C’s blatant falsehoods suggesting that the terms in the lop-sided oil contracts were created by the APNU/AFC Coalition – a lie perpetrated to cover-up the PPP/C’s spinelessness in not seeking contract renegotiations to make a better deal with Exxon for a fair and just share of our people’s own patrimony. The irrefutable facts presented herein will expose that the PPPC created all of the lop-sided terms for which they now hypocritically vilify the Coalition.

Fact #1 – To date, there is a total of nine deep-water oil contracts. the PPP/C signed the first seven between 1999 and 2015, followed by the Coalition’s signing of the final two in 2016.

Fact #2 – The PPP/C created every single one of the lop-sided terms which they put into their original seven contracts and afterwards copied into the two contracts signed by the Coalition, with the only change being to double the PPP/C’s 1% royalty to 2%; but that fact didn’t stop VP Jagdeo from barefacedly lying that the Coalition “gave up a zero royalty”.

Fact #3 – Neglectful of the above facts, Jagdeo, in his most recent Thursday diatribe, called the Coalition “the biggest crooks and culprits who signed the Contract”, and hilariously sermonized that it’s “not a question of what you say, it’s a question about believability”. With the evidence in full view herein, let the people judge who are the real “crooks” for being the mother creator of the contracts, and how believable are Jagdeo and the PPP/C.

Fact #4 – Notwithstanding the above facts that all contract terms were created by the PPPC, Jagdeo dishonestly imputes the Coalition for “no taxes and no ring fencing”. First, there is absolutely nothing in the contracts stopping the PPP/C from imposing Ring Fencing; but they spread this lie to cloak their unpatriotic subservience to Exxon not wanting Ring Fencing, consequently robbing the nation of our patrimony desperately needed to bring us out of dire poverty, while putting it into Exxon’s pockets. Second, as already established, the “no taxes” term was created by the PPP/C and not the Coalition.

Fact #5 – Despite the above facts that all terms were created by the PPP/C, AG Nandlall in his characteristic devious way, describes the Coalition’s 2016 Stabroek Block contract as “the most lop-sided in the world, and the Coalition can’t explain sensibly why they entered into it and indicted us with this burden in the first place”. Since the Coalition’s 2016 contract is indisputably a re-write of President Janet Jagan’s 1999 contract with the only change being the Coalition’s doubling the royalty from 1% to 2%, by his own standard, Nandlall then needs to “sensibly explain why they entered into the 1999 contract and burdened us in the first place” and why they stop at nothing to side with Exxon against the nation, including perverting Parliament and joining with Exxon waging war in the courts against the nation’s fight for full liability coverage to pay for cleanup of an oil spill that would otherwise bankrupt Guyana.

Fact #6 – Jagdeo pedals the foolishness that his and President Ali’s pledges to renegotiate the contract were satisfied with the new shallow water contracts; but beyond the fact that the videos displaying their pledges left no doubt they meant the 2016 Stabroek Block contract, any 3rd grade pupil would grasp that the prefix “re” means a repetition or to do again, hence, only an airhead would deem a new contract as representing a “re” negotiated contract.

Fact #7 – Jagdeo spouts his idiocy suggesting that the 1999 contract signed by Janet Jagan had only entailed the exploration phase, and so, excluded the lop-sided production sharing terms which were only first introduced by the Coalition in the separate 2016 production phase contract. On the contrary, there are no separate Contracts for exploration and production. All nine contracts incorporate both the exploration and production phases and the lop-sided terms. Unless exceedingly daft, how could anyone read any of these Contracts and comprehend otherwise!

Fact #8 – True to his character, Nandlall has cowardly chickened out running from debating yours truly, coming up with all kinds of wimpy excuses, though, he was the one who bluffingly mouthed off that “these guys would not sit down with you and debate publicly. I am prepared to do that. Let us go on the TV. They would never do that because I would like to do that”. It’s obvious that these chaps do not possess the courage, trustworthiness, honesty and mental acuity to be taken seriously to lead a country with such great potential. I repeat my challenge to debate this man so that the people of Guyana would see and hear the truth, rather than be misled by his hiding behind talking to himself and being interviewed by his sycophantic NCN. He must either put up or shut up!

Clearly evident from all of the foregoing, these fellas, inspired by their Putinesque maxim, want Guyanese to doubt what they hear with their own ears, see with their own eyes, read with their own lips, and think with their own brains, leading to Jagdeo’s insulting utterances that Guyanese are “stupid”. He denies meaning what he said in plain vanilla talk that “They sold us out to the foreigners. Every time there is a find out there, our people should be sad because nothing comes our way. We are going to renegotiate those contracts. They gave up zero royalty, no taxes, no ring-fencing”.

Though he relishes abusing his own citizens, reporters, and all who dare to fact check him, Jagdeo’s bloviating quickly turned into meek obedience to Exxon, mousily changing his tune to “sanctity of contract” fearing to even ask Exxon to renegotiate the contracts, leaving no doubt whatsoever as to who really “sold us out to foreigners” and who are the real “crooks and culprits”.

Best regards

Dr. Vincent Adams

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• Guyana Oil, Oil contracts, PPP/C, ring-fencing, Vincent Adams

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