…and only a drop for Guyana?
How easily they forget!! That’s what your Eyewitness has been thinking as Guyanese rise up in righteous indignation to demand the new PPP Government “renegotiate” the oil contract with Exxon. They forget it’s the PNC and their “negotiator” Raphael Trotman who got us in this fix to begin with. Shouldn’t they be demanding that Trotman spell out exactly what went on – or went down – in Texas on that fateful day in July 2016 when he signed along the dotted line and literally gave away the store?
Now, some might say that’s just digging up old news. But really, it might give us the wherewithal to persuade Exxon to be a little more expansive, to open up their purse strings. We should remember it was an independent British firm – Clyde and Co, hired by the PNC Govt – which declared that Exxon had held back vital information from Trotman. “The Contractor Consortium (Exxon et al) appear to have put a lot of pressure on the Government and the MoNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) to secure the 2016 Agreement in a short time scale,” said the report.
Evidently, “The reason given related to commitments for drilling rigs that the Contractor Consortium (Exxon) said would need to be stepped away from if a new agreement was not signed.”
Sounds familiar?? But, in reality, this wasn’t why Exxon was rushing the deal. “It seems to us likely that EEPGL were also strongly driving to have a new agreement signed prior to the Liza-2 well results becoming fully known and understood by the Government. Presumably because knowledge of a “world class” discovery could have altered the Government’s negotiating position.”
Well…well…well!! This is the smoking gun, isn’t it?? As a matter of fact, three days before the discovery was confirmed, Trotman did sign the PSA for what was to be labelled Lisa 2 – the massive field – complementing the exploration agreement already signed between the parties!!
So, this is what the PPP should be placing on the table right now: that Exxon withheld a material fact, right…and they’ll have pinned Exxon to the ground!!
Well, not really. American law disclaims any general duty of “good faith” in the negotiation of commercial agreements!! As one court ruled: “In a business transaction, both sides presumably try to get the best deal. That is the essence of bargaining and the free market… [N]o legal rule (binds) the run of business interest. So, one cannot characterise self-interest as bad faith.”
Really, Guyana can’t say that Exxon “misrepresented” the facts to get Trotman to sign.
They just avoided stating those facts!!
…and elections petition doubles
While most Guyanese are hoping that Exxon will “do the right thing” and cut Guyana some slack on Trotman’s folly, the man has shown up like the proverbial bad penny on the elections petition scene. Yesterday, your Eyewitness reported that the new Opposition Leader from the APNU/AFC benches, Lil Joe Harmon, reported that he’ll be filing what we thought was THE long-promised elections petition next Tuesday.
Well, that hasn’t changed, but Trotman announced yesterday that he will be filing a SECOND elections petition on the same date!!
Now, several questions popped into your Eyewitness’s mind. Firstly, did Harmon give his blessing to this move?? After all, it implies that Trotman has some doubts about Harmon’s case succeeding, even though Lil Joe had declared even during the “war of attrition” that his case was watertight, and, in fact, if Claudette had deigned to look at his evidence contained in his eleven missives, Granger would’ve been President today!!
Secondly, is Trotman filing on behalf of the AFC??
Meaning the coalition might be splintering??
…and folks are slip-sliding
Hard on the heels of one slick PNC operator being nicknamed “Barbershop Man”, we now have another dubbed “Flash Drive Man”!!
That’s the GECOM fella who sidled into that backroom to do the dirty with the SOPs.
