THE Court of Appeal (CoA) has ruled that it does not have jurisdiction to summon the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to produce evidence that ExxonMobil Guyana has lodged the $2 billion Affiliate Guarantee and Indemnity Agreement with the agency.

The ruling was handed down by Justice of Appeal Rishi Persaud on Monday.
In an official release, on Wednesday, the EPA said that it “will honour this ruling and wishes to reiterate that the Agency continues to be guided by the Environmental Protection Act Cap 20:05, as to what information it is mandated to make available to the public.”

This appeal stems from actions by Guyanese citizens Frederick Collins and Godfrey Whyte, who, in a summons dated November 1, 2023, sought a court order to mandate the EPA to disclose documents proving the financial guarantee provided by the US oil company for its operations in the Stabroek Block.

Collins and Whyte had initiated a legal battle in September 2022 in the High Court, demanding that the EPA enforce the liability clause of the environmental permit issued to ExxonMobil.
They insisted that the court must ensure ExxonMobil assumes full financial responsibility in case of an oil spill, well blowout, or similar incident causing environmental harm.

In a ruling on May 3, 2023, High Court Judge, Sandil Kissoon, found that ExxonMobil had inadequately met its insurance obligations under its environmental permit for the Liza One project, labelling the company’s efforts as a “disingenuous attempt” to weaken its obligations.

As a result, he ordered the EPA to issue an Enforcement Notice to ExxonMobil (Guyana) demanding the provision of an unlimited Parent Company Guarantee and/or an unlimited liability Affiliate Company Guarantee, along with appropriate environmental liability insurance, in line with global industry norms. Non-compliance would lead to the suspension of the permit.

Following this, the EPA appealed against Judge Kissoon’s order and requested a suspension of the enforcement while the appeal was processed.
On June 8, 2023, Justice Persaud granted a stay of the High Court judgement but said that ExxonMobil was required to provide a $2 billion guarantee as a temporary measure.