Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams is scheduled to return to work today after being abruptly sent off on his accumulated leave in late August but it is unclear if his services will be retained at the agency.
With promises by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo that the Irfaan Ali PPP/C administration will seek to integrate Adams within the oil and gas sector, it is also unclear in what capacity government will utilize his expertise.
“Mr. Vincent Adams is still off the job. We are looking to see, in the new architecture that we are creating for the managing of the energy sector, whether his skills can be utilized there,” Jagdeo had told his last press conference.
On the 27th of August, and on the heels of a key decision on approvals for ExxonMobil’s Payara well for which the EPA had outlined a number of critical concerns, Adams was sent on immediate leave.
It was Adams who was playing the “lead role” for the government side on discussions on Payara. He has decades of experience in the public and private sectors in environmental management, groundwater, and petroleum production fields, and worked on US$ billion dollar-projects at the United States Department of Energy, where he had served for some 30 years.
Adams’ abrupt exit from a process that he was actively a part of, as well as being this country’s lead technical person, drew public consternation and questions on the rationale for the move.
Adams is the holder of a Degree in Civil Engineering, a Masters’ Degree in Petroleum and Geological Engineering and another in Geohydrology. The Linden-born scientist is also the holder of a PhD in Petroleum and Geological Engineering and another in Environmental Engineering.
He had told this newspaper in early 2018 that he felt that although Guyana is expected to become an oil producer, agriculture and renewable energy will actually be its keys to long-term sustainability. He had said, too, that he believes that ExxonMobil should have paid US$1B instead of US$18M sum as a signing bonus.
He was criticized by officials in the David Granger-led APNU+AFC government for his positions and was mocked by some as “the one billion dollar man”.
The PPP/C and members of the public had voiced concerns when he was overlooked for the position of Head of the Department of Energy and Dr. Mark Bynoe was chosen.
Some persons had felt that it was because of his criticism of the handing of the controversial 2016 Production Sharing Agreement that he was put to head the EPA.
Bynoe’s services were last week terminated following the completion of his remaining leave. His contract would have expired in July of 2021 but there is a clause that he could be terminated with notice.
At the same press conference when he spoke of Adams, Jagdeo had said that he could not say if Bynoe would be retained.
“Dr. Bynoe is still there, but I will be frank with you; I am not sure whether he will remain the head, given that his experience has never been in that sector. I can’t say if he will be retained in the area because his entire working experience has been in that sector [environment],” he said.
