No need for full disclosure of Guyana-ExxonMobil contract – Trotman

While the economic prospects of the oil and gas sector in Guyana seem bright on every side, Guyana can ‘hold its tongue’ just a little while longer, until there are actual tangible resources on hand.
This is according to Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, who said on Thursday that there was no need for Guyana to be making full disclosures about its oil and gas or the 50/50 contract it has with US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil.

Trotman was addressing members of the local press during a media breakfast at the Herdmanston Lodge. Along with him was Exxon’s Country Manager Jeff Simmons.  The current administration had inherited from the former administration a contract which was signed in 1999. Trotman said Government took a decision to examine the legal document, but avoided reopening it in its entirety for negotiations. It is possible, however, for the contract to be updated so that future arrangements could go hand-in-hand with what is happening in the industry.
“We did not want it to go abroad. Guyana is a place where we didn’t respect the sanctity of contracts entered into, and we thought it best to preserve what we have found. It was not altogether a bad contract… full disclosure will not be to the national benefit or interest”, he told journalists.   According to the Natural Resources Minister, there is absolutely no need for Guyana to be making noise about its oil find, as that could have consequences at this stage.
“I am saying don’t let’s go out there shouting with the interest of full disclosure. Everything we say and do as a government is being recorded, and will be used against us. We are prepared to share the salient features of the contract, which is a 50/50 partnership production share agreement; which means that Exxon and its partners will share 50 percent among themselves and the Government of Guyana will share a 50 percent”, he said.

According to Trotman, Guyana has no army that could withstand an aggressive force, neither does it have an air force or navy.
“If we go about everything we have, we are proceeding this year in a very delicate way. We are possibly (heading) into a (mediation) process with a Good Officer appointed by new United Nations Secretary General, and if by the end of November there is no likelihood of a settlement, we are headed to a juridical settlement of a longstanding claim. This is all we have. We have waited for 50 years for something to tell us that this is ours”, the Minister said.
He added: “We are already wealthy; we are going to be wealthy. We have no reason to go right now and expose all our business to the world when we don’t even have the resources actually in hand. Let’s get things in our hand, then we can go out and shout what we have”.
Meanwhile, Trotman said Government expects an influx of foreigners, with the first wave most likely being from the Caribbean. He said there has been a reference to Trinidad, with Prime Minister Keith Rowley recently meeting with President Granger and himself, along with some other ministers, and (making) some case for Trinidad’s content to be in the Guyanese economy. According to Trotman, Government proposes to formalize that arrangement at a state-to-state level.
“There was a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed, (but it) expired in 2015, and there is a high level meeting that is to be convened in Trinidad later this month. Out of that is to flow collaborations in education and agriculture, business opportunities, and oil and gas”, he said
The Minister said Government is concerned, and is pushing for Guyanese to be employed in the process leading up to oil production, although much of it requires specialised training. He said Government is working to boost capacity at the University and at technical levels.