– Minister Trotman

THE Government of Guyana, through Minister of Governance with responsibility for Natural Resources and the Environment, Raphael Trotman, is debunking claims that it will ask U.S. oil company ExxonMobil for upfront payments ahead of the commercial production of oil here.

In its Thursday November 26, 2015 online edition, ‘demerarawaves,’ under the caption “Guyana wants ExxonMobil to front-load some oil profits for major projects,” reported that the Government plans to solicit pre-commercial production payments from ExxonMobil.
But on Tuesday, Minister Trotman, in an invited comment, said the assertions carried in the online new report are false, contending that it was never directly communicated that Government had asked the company or intends to ask the company for advances.
Trotman further said he was approached by the journalist who questioned whether the Government would consider asking the oil company for funds ahead of production and, if it was afforded the opportunity to receive early payments, which area of development would the funds be channelled into.
The Minister of Governance said it was to this hypothetical question that he responded that Government would focus on infrastructural development if given the resources.
“I also said that if those matters were to be raised it would have to be by our President when he meets ExxonMobil’s president in January. I distinctly remember saying that I had no knowledge of government seeking any such money upfront,” Minister Trotman said as he cleared the air.
However, while Government has not received any offers to date, Minister Trotman said it will consider all possibilities which are in the best interest of the country.

The news of Government soliciting financial advances from the oil giant had created quite a stir in the political realm, with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo contending that such a move would be disastrous.
According to the former President, Guyana would accumulate unnecessary debt under such a transaction, leaving no room for transparency. “We haven’t even gotten oil proceeds yet to save and he now wants to spend it today, money we don’t have… ExxonMobil still has to drill more wells before they get into the development,” Jagdeo said during a recent press conference at Freedom House.