…WPA, TIGI call for full disclosure of Exxon contract

THE Working Peoples’ Alliance (WPA) – one of the parties in the coalition government – and the Transparency Institute Guyana Incorporated (TIGI) are calling for public disclosure of the contract between ExxonMobil and the Government of Guyana.
The WPA’s position was expressed in a letter from the party, which was sent to President David Granger, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, and Minster of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman on Tuesday last. The letter was signed by Executive Member of the WPA and former Member of Parliament (MP), Desmond Trotman.
Only last week Government announced that it was expected to grant a production licence to ExxonMobil for production of petroleum to move ahead in 2020; whilst placing emphasis on Guyanese employment and training, the procurement of goods and services in Guyana, infrastructural soundness and the protection of the environment. The Production Licence is required to be finalised before the developers make their Final Investment Decision (FID) for the project in June 2017.

Extraction from the Liza field is expected to commence in 2020 at an initial rate of 100,000 barrels of crude per day in the first phase with a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel providing the main infrastructural support for the project. “The Government and people of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana will receive a royalty of two percent on gross earnings and benefit from 50 percent of the profits from the sale of petroleum once production commences,” a release by the Ministry of Natural Resources had said. “The Ministry of Natural Resources and other Ministries and Agencies are actively pursuing a number of undertakings on the policy, legislative and infrastructure sides to ensure that the country is prepared for the coming oil production. As this Ministry, along with others, seek to develop our oil and gas industry in a sustainable and profitable manner, citizens are encouraged to continue to provide their feedback and recommendations on the new sector when the Ministry’s outreaches visit their communities.” It added that following consideration by the Cabinet the findings of the various reports will be released.
The WPA is one of six parties which comprise the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition group, which together with the Alliance for Change (AFC) secured victory at the May 11, 2015 polls. In the letter, the WPA said that it has noted the continued withholding of the general publication of the contract between ExxonMobil – the company currently drilling for oil here – and its partners with the Government of Guyana, and that this decision is “unwise for several reasons.”

The reasons listed were that the contracts are publicly available online for countries with “odious authoritarian reputations” and even those “wracked with severe domestic and external conflicts.”
As such, the WPA said there is no justifiable reason for this government not to publish the contract with the oil-giant which is expected to commence production by 2020. The WPA urged the government to release the contract on or around June 13, both in honour of the memory of its founder Dr Walter Rodney who was killed on this day, 37 years ago, and in the interest of transparency and accountability.
“In the spirit of Walter Rodney, we ask that the occasion of his death anniversary – June 13th, 2017 – is used to make the contract public, in honour of his memory… In the interest of upholding the tenets of transparency and accountability, the Executive Members of the WPA would like to urge you [Government] to adopt this position and release the contract to allow for public consumption, at or around June 13, 2017,” the letter stated.
The WPA contended that seeking public comment on the contents of the contract is a “democratic obligation” of the government, and that engaging the widest possible sharing of views can only help the executive to make wiser decisions.
In March of this year, Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman had said that “full disclosure [of the contract] at this point in time, I think government is of the view that full disclosure would not be to the best of the national benefit or national interest”.
However, the WPA stated that as the government continue to request from the public their “unwavering trust,” political opponents and citizens should not be given a reason to suggest that the coalition government should not be trusted.

Special interest
Meanwhile, adding its voice to the call for the full disclosure of the contract, Transparency International Inc said Guyanese have a special interest in developments with regard to the discovery of substantial amounts of petroleum in Guyana. “We agree that the potential certainly exists for catapulting Guyana into a new sphere of economic growth. This not only provides an unprecedented opportunity for engaging all our human resources in guarding of our patrimony, but in fact demands that they be so engaged. This should be considered in the context of the worldwide recognition that especially in developing and transition countries, the emergence of substantial amounts of petroleum is associated with substantial increases in the level of corruption.”
According to the TIGI, for some while now, there has been a growing clamour for disclosure of the contract with ExxonMobil and its partners. “Each time this chorus strikes up, there is a refrain from the government citing reasons why it is best not to disclose. One reason advanced is that full disclosure would not be to the national benefit or the national interest. In fact, the Minister of Natural Resources was quoted as having said that “… We have no reason right now to expose all our business to the world.”
“We believe that Exxon, the major player, has a reputation to protect and would shun corrupt transactions. While we hope this is true, corruption is not the only problem Guyana has to worry about when dealing with oil companies. One of these is the ability of a small country like Guyana to negotiate with a titan like Exxon. Most of the cards the government is keeping to its chest are stacked in Exxon’s favour. Exxon is a descendant of the company that invented the oil industry and a key player and superpower in this global sector. Exxon will have more information – a vital element of negotiation – than the Guyana officials will ever dream exists,” the transparency watchdog body said.
It added: “an indispensable approach to evening the odds that are stacked against Guyana in the negotiations is to publish the contract drafts and make the negotiations accountable to Parliament. In this way, Guyanese of the diaspora whose knowledge is vast in this area will be able to make contributions to the process and thus protect our country’s interest.”

The body observed too that the other explanation being given for non-disclosure has to do with national security, “but we are not convinced. First of all, it is near impossible to undervalue the amount of the oil potential that has already been disclosed to the public, by the international press and in investment circles. It charged that government’s willingness to ignore the mountain of evidence against contract secrecy and the potential ills associated with a developing oil industry is baffling. This is especially so given its stated commitment to transparency and accountability. We call for a full release of the contract with ExxonMobil and its partners.”