MID-Atlantic Oil and Gas Inc will receive tax concessions for its oil and gas explorations in the Canje and Kaieteur blocks.

The motion for such, tabled by Finance Minister Winston Jordon, was approved on Wednesday during the 96th sitting of the National Assembly.
Jordon said Section 51 of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act No. 3 allows for the Minister of Finance to approve certain concessions.

He noted that it was under the very section of the act US oil giant ExxonMobil benefitted.
“The Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas Inc may not be Exxon or any of the other majors that we are so accustomed to, but it is important from Guyana’s stand point. It is small, it is unknown but it is in the oil and gas sector.

“Importantly for Guyana is that it is a local company comprising many enterprising and well-known Guyanese,” Jordon put forward.

Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas Inc was granted operations licence under the former Government on March 4, 2014, with a Production Share Agreement signed on the same date.
During the debate on the motion, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Member of Parliament (MP) Irfaan Ali proposed that the finance minister defers the motion until the Government reviews ExxonMobil’s Production Agreement and design a framework to guide the new negotiations.

Jordon in response acknowledged that much of what MP Ali highlighted was important but noted that Mid Atlantic must not suffer “deferences and delays”.

“I thank Honorable member for his intervention and his statements. I want to say that everything he has said is important and pertinent to the evolving and ongoing discussion on oil and gas.

“There are a number of statements that have been made by the Government; there are a number of policy positions that have been put out by the Government, there are a number of statements that have been made by a number of international agencies and so on for which the Government is examining.

“But at the end of the day we have an order before us that speaks to a specific question… all Section 51 is seeking to do is to give credence to what has been signed by no less a President of this country,” he said.

He added: “A small Guyanese company must not be made to suffer by deference and delays so that matters extraneous to the acclamation of this order can be dealt with.”
He further argued that the affirmation of the Section 51 order would give confidence to stakeholders and investors to conduct business in Guyana.

“[Affirmation of the order] demonstrates an effective and sustainable investment climate that will ensure Guyana realises the greatest possible benefit from its resources. It also gives confidence to investors, both local and foreign, that we honour the sanctity of contracts,” Jordan said.

The motion was taken to a vote and was approved by a majority vote from the Government’s side of the House. The Opposition abstained from the voting.