The APNU+AFC is adamant that billions of dollars could be lost due to the government’s deficient management of the oil and gas sector.
The Opposition, in a statement yesterday, asserted that Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo’s deficiencies “as the government’s oil czar” continues to be exposed and pose growing risks to the country’s financial, economic, and environmental well-being.
The Opposition said Jagdeo became hot-headed over the party’s statement at its press conference last Thursday, that Guyanese were being kept in the dark on oil reserves which is disrespectful and unacceptable, and the government should release the projected cash flow from the five projects sanctioned to date in the Stabroek Block to arm citizens with the knowledge of the extent and rate at which ExxonMobil is expected to recoup its investments.
“In his ploy to brush aside these demands, Jagdeo uttered some of his most outrageous comments yet on the oil industry, which again attest why he is dangerously unfit to be anywhere near the industry,” the statement read.
Jagdeo, at his party’s press conference at Freedom House in Robb Street on Thursday, revealed that the Government of Guyana has been updated on the Stabroek Block reserves. However, he said that this information was not important if ExxonMobil did not move to production.
He vehemently rebuked the Opposition’s utterances and deemed it disrespectful that the party would accuse the government of keeping the nation in the dark about its oil reserves.
On March 15th, 2024 Stabroek News reported that ExxonMobil had announced a discovery at Bluefin in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana, the company’s first for 2024.
A release from the company said that the Bluefin well encountered approximately 197 feet (60 metres) of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled by the Stena Drillmax drillship in 4,244 feet (1,294 metres) of water.
The Bluefin well is located approximately 8.5 kilometres southeast of the Sailfin-1, in the southeastern portion of the Stabroek block.
“Our exploration programme continues to improve our understanding of the block’s potential to drive viable oil and gas development. This latest find reinforces that we have the people, skills and technology to safely and responsibly deliver value to Guyana from the country’s resources,” the release quoted President of ExxonMobil Guyana Alistair Routledge as saying.
The Bluefin discovery joins the more than 30 already made on the Stabroek block since 2015.
There has been major controversy over Exxon not updating the oil reserves it has found. The last figure was around 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent and this has not been adjusted following recent finds.
Following the announcement of the Bluefin discovery, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton at his party’s press conference said, “Regardless whether it is the company that is keeping the government in the dark or whether it is the government keeping the people in the dark, the lack of transparency is disrespectful and unacceptable.”
He continued,“The natural resources of Guyana belong to the people of Guyana. In the Preamble of our Constitution, we have declared our commitment “to protect our natural environment and endowment, citizens are impeded in performing this duty if vital information on their oil resources is denied them.”
But the VP rebutted that the country has been receiving quarterly reports from Exxon Mobil.
“We know about all the reserves we have now but the only way this country can make money is if we convert the resources into reserves and then into production. Knowing reserves without converting it into production is nonsense because we already know we have 11 billion barrels of reserves and it will keep growing but what’s the point about knowing anything about reserves,” Jagdeo said.
“And we do get, every quarter, a report… the ministry in the last quarter of 2023 on it, so the information has to come to us.”
When asked for these updates, the Vice President said that he would check to see whether the report submitted by ExxonMobil contains proprietary information so they can be shared on the Ministry of Natural Resources website.
“I have asked the ministry to see if there is anything proprietary in the reports and to see if we can’t extract the basics. So if the report in its fullness has elements that are only for the mi\nistry and the staff of the ministry then we can’t extract parts of the report and make it public on the ministry’s website, ” he said,
He alluded to the Oil and Gas Governance Network’s (OGGN) request for these updates to be provided within two months, but according to the Vice President, this is impossible.
“When you discover oil, it doesn’t mean you immediately know the quantum etcetera. You have to come back often and do an appraisal well or estimate the resources based on the geology, a whole range of complex issues, so they, somehow, are conflating discovery with knowledge of reserves.”
Jagdeo told the press that Exxon’s report was premised on moving and increasing its production capacity to which he agreed.
He concluded, “It is important that we get the data but it’s not an obsession of the government, because even if you know more about the reserves, the only way we will benefit from that is if the projects are done and our focus is on getting the projects approved because it’s out of the projects that this country will make money.”
The Opposition’s press statement said, “This level of absurdity further exposes the crisis in the mismanagement of the country’s oil sector in two regards: that the government has no intention of releasing information on reserves to the public despite its obligations under the constitution and the EITI, and the government sees no point or necessity in knowing about the country’s reserves – beyond knowing that, to quote Jagdeo, we have 11 billion barrels of reserves and it will keep growing.’
On the contrary, the statement said that it was important to know what the total oil reserves were as that information was needed to “(i) plan for the long-term future of the economy, (ii) plan for the long-term viability of the Natural Resources Fund, (iii) draft a national oil extraction policy, if necessary, (iv) quantify projected workforce and local content needs in the sector, (v) plan the country’s long-term energy security, (vi) assess the potential for future natural gas production, (vii) better plan our obligations and commitments under Net Zero, and (viii) anticipate and plan for the exhaustion of oil reserves.”
Calling the current situation high-risk, given the billions of US dollars involved and the legitimate aspirations of the Guyanese people, the statement said that to safely and sensibly manage the oil sector, the coalition government in 2025 will establish a Petroleum Commission staffed with highly competent professionals. “Until then, we will press on with our work to protect our natural endowment,” it concluded.
