Dear Editor,
I am compelled to write again, about this most crucial matter of full coverage insurance, so as to keep it fresh in the minds of our people; for the modus operandi of the Government and Exxon is to no doubt, wait it out and it will soon be the news of yesterday. The issue of full coverage is too urgent and consequential to the nation, for us to let go; especially considering our Government’s neglect of its most exigent role of representing and protecting its people. This dereliction of duty is no more evident than the disturbing stance of the Government in taking the side of Exxon as it incessantly scorns our rule of law; and by the Speaker’s emasculation of the Opposition’s Motion to address full liability coverage.
I read with sadness, Mr. Routledge’s response to my recent letter, because of how in full view, Exxon is given carte blanche to pooh-pooh our rule of law with such impunity. I was also chagrined by this Exxon top gun’s continuous insulting of the Guyanese people with his disrespectful and arrogant empty mumbo jumbo rhetoric. Please be advised Mr. Routledge, that Guyana may be a Third World country, but we have first world brains, and are not stupid as you seem to think. Exxon initially claimed that no insurance existed, but when caught with pants down, now claims there is indeed insurance, and even though not a $2.5 Billion amount, it is “insurance that meets international industry standards”. However, quite puzzling, they steadfastly balk at the opportunity to clear the air by telling us what is that amount.
So, Mr. Routledge, if Exxon is interested in restoring any of its little semblance of honesty and credibility, show us this legally required insurance policy. What do you have, or not have, to hide Mr. Routledge? To add to his fancy talk, Mr. Routledge professes that “Exxon has sufficient money and assets to meet our responsibilities for an adverse event” – the same corporate line Exxon’s former boss fed me when I told him, if it’s that simple, then put it in writing; hence the resulting terms spelled out in the EPA Permits, requiring full liability coverage to include insurance, plus parent company coverage for all amounts over the insurance coverage. Further, Mr. Routledge must explain what he meant by “We are committed to paying all legitimate costs in the unlikely event of an oil spill”? What does all legitimate costs mean? And what are the illegitimate costs in a spill that he will not cover? You owe the Guyanese people answers, Mr. Routledge!
Mr. Routledge went on to condescendingly spotlight “that the $2 Billion they are negotiating would exceed the equivalent guarantees required by regulators in Canada, the United States and United Kingdom”; as if to put us in our place that we ought to be thankful for our small mercies. Unsurprisingly, this is the same head honcho who, upon arrival in the country, imperiously threatened that Exxon may have to take its business elsewhere if we don’t cooperate. First and foremost Mr. Routledge, Guyana ceased being a colony over 50 years ago; and so, like those countries, is entitled to our sovereign rights to think for ourselves, and set our own laws to protect our own interests. Again Mr. Routledge, we are not stupid, for we see what is going on in Peru where the Government has to drag a major foreign oil company (also operating in Guyana) through the courts, forcing them into meeting their obligations. Also Mr. Routledge, the people of Guyana have not forgotten that with you at its helm, our EPA had to take legal action against Exxon when you refused to pay a paltry fine of $500 USD for six small spills. Unfortunately, upon my leaving the EPA, and because of the Government’s kowtowing to your wishes, the case was dropped and the EPA Attorney prosecuting the case was discharged.
So, Mr. Routledge, your disingenuous comparison with those countries will not fool anyone, because your company’s conduct of scoffing at our laws will in no way be tolerated in those countries. As you are well aware, Mr. Routledge, when the regulators in those countries say jump, you would have asked how high. I know that to be so Mr. Routledge, because I was a high level regulator in one of those countries. Mr. Routledge’s utterances of some kind of $2 Billion insurance must be seen as nothing but a hoax and distraction from the noncompliant startup of Liza 2 without the legal requirements for full liability coverage embodied in the EPA Permits. Section 12.1 of the Permit directs that “The Permit Holder shall have insurance”. Section 12.4 instructs that “The EPA shall review the environmental liability policy” with determinations to include “amount of cover; notification to EPA of modification, cancellation, intent to renew, expiry dates of the policy; and evidence of payment of premium.” Section 12.5 manifests that “Permit Holder must provide from the Parent Company or affiliate companies, one or more legally binding agreements to the EPA, undertakings to provide adequate financial resources to pay or satisfy their respective obligations if EEPGL fails to do so.
The foregoing provides irrefutable evidence of the legal requirements for an insurance, plus a parent company Agreement to cover amounts exceeding the insurance, which the Government and Exxon have dishonourably denied. As such, by their own denial, Exxon and the Government have admitted breaching the Liza 2 Permit by commencing operations in February 2022, without these critical requirements in place. The Government and Mr. Routledge have an obligation to explain to the people of Guyana why the nation’s laws were so blatantly disregarded, when the Liza 2 production commenced without the legal requirements for full liability coverage, to the detriment of the nation’s health, environment and economic well-being.
Sincerely,
Dr. Vincent Adams
