-says no conflict of interest for Guyana with
former Exxon employee
In its ongoing defence of the less-than-one-year-old energy startup company owned by former ExxonMobil employee, Jesus Bronchalo, government yesterday informed that Fulcrum LNG Inc plans to partner with “top” global companies such as Baker Hughes, and source funding from the United States EXIM Bank and private equity firms.
“The most comprehensive proposal came from Fulcrum and they had some of the top US companies. Fulcrum [had] as their partners; you had McDermott [International, Ltd] who is the lead contractor as part of this company. You had Baker Hughes as part of this company; ERM on the environmental consultants; Solaris; and other agencies associated. These are some of the top companies in the world,” Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday told a press conference at PPP headquarters.
“And they also identified potential forms of financing [for] these activities, either through US EXIM Bank or private equity firms that may be interested in this. They had, clearly, the best proposal,” he added.
The Vice President said that government saw no conflict of interest in the company getting the award because Bronchalo was known to be part of the company from the onset. “The evaluators knew right from the beginning that this gentleman was part of the proposal. So that company was selected,” he said.
“We don’t have a conflict of interest. Now, if he has a conflict of interest with Exxon, that’s a different matter,” he posited.
Jagdeo said that if Bronchalo has proprietary information about ExxonMobil, it would be a gain for government and the conflict would be from ExxonMobil’s end and not Guyana. “I would anticipate if he has knowledge of that information, it helps us to move the process faster,” he reasoned.
He said that government had enquired if Bronchalo was still in the employ of ExxonMobil and was told that he had resigned and that the US oil major saw no conflict from their end either.
“So in Exxon too, we sought to find out and he resigned from Exxon… Exxon has confirmed that there is no conflict of interest. They have confirmed that. They said if he had stayed on and was getting benefits from the company then that would have been a conflict. He resigned some time ago and therefore there is no conflict,” Jagdeo asserted.
Government on Tuesday defended its decision to select the less-than-one-year-old Fulcrum LNG Inc company headed by Bronchalo, ExxonMobil’s former Vice President of LNG Market Development, who worked here up to last year, insisting procurement procedures were above board.
“Fulcrum LNG, a US-based company, was deemed the most responsive compliant bidder and ranked No.1, followed by CNOOC Power and Gas Group, ranked No. 2, and a consortium of local and international companies which were ranked No. 3,” a statement from the Ministry of Natural Resources had said.
“As such, Fulcrum LNG will be supporting the government and the Stabroek Block operator, ExxonMobil Guyana, to utilise the non-associated gas – serving as an independent development,” it added.
President Irfaan Ali on Thursday announced that the company was selected to monetize this country’s natural gas resources. Bronchalo, who once held a number of positions at ExxonMobil since 2004, including serving as its representative on the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GY-EITI) Board, three days ago announced his new role. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Founder & CEO at Fulcrum LNG Inc.” he wrote on LinkedIn. That position will see him work alongside ExxonMobil and government to determine what are the best financial decisions for this country’s natural gas. However, given his previous association with ExxonMobil, there are concerns that there would not be sufficient distance to ensure that the country’s interest is the number one priority for Fulcrum.
Fulcrum LLC Inc was registered in the tax-free business state of Nevada in the USA on July 31, 2023, with NV20232857050 as its business registration number and an address of 937 Tahoe Blvd, Suite 130B, Incline Village, 89451-9462.
“I am delighted and honored that Fulcrum LNG has been selected by the Government of Guyana to design, finance, construct, and operate the required gas infrastructure to provide gas monetization solutions and accelerate upstream gas developments in Guyana,” Bronchalo wrote on his LinkedIn page following President Irfaan Ali’s announcement last week.
“A key element of our infrastructure solution is a gas processing unit and a modular, scalable, facility to produce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and NGLs/LPGs for Guyana as well as regional and global markets.
We have partnered with some of the industry’s leading global firms to deploy the most advanced technologies and sustainable solutions,” he added.
Bronchalo described himself as an energy executive with over 20 years of experience and multiple leadership positions, who is “passionate about energy, energy transition and sustainability, leadership, strategic thinking, diversity and inclusion, and high performing organizations.”
He disclosed that he joined ExxonMobil in May of 2004 and worked in various positions for that company that included Commercial and Strategy Director, Vice President LNG Origination, Vice President Portfolio Development and Strategy, and Chief Commercial Officer here for Esso Exploration Production Limited now ExxonMobil Guyana. He also served for four months as Senior Vice President Business Development Low Carbon Solutions Asia Pacific.
While working here, Bronchalo was also ExxonMobil’s representative on the 12-member (GY-EITI) Board’s Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) which had been appointed in 2021.
Government defended the decision, as it pointed out it was one where not only the procurement award was above board, but in line with its plans to develop this country’s natural gas resources. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Natural Resources asserted that government has “consistently made it clear publicly that one of our priorities in the oil and gas sector is the development of our country’s gas resources.”
Fulcrum LNG’s submission, the government noted, was very detailed and comprehensive, and outlined a structured approach to gas development; “hence the evaluators were satisfied based on the submission of its competency which resulted in the company being ranked No. 1.”
“In summary, the Fulcrum LNG proposal was considered by the evaluators as the most comprehensive and technically sound proposal.”
The statement also noted that following the evaluation and selection, “the evaluation report was then submitted to the cabinet with no objection. The Cabinet deliberated and examined the report and granted it’s no-objection for Fulcrum LNG to be engaged.”
Jagdeo observed that many persons have questioned the startup company being given the contract with government, but fail to notice the many success stories on startups, this one has big-name partners.
“When you look at the partners… these are massive companies. Look at the history of startups in the United States. I have a list of about 15 that have moved on to do huge projects in the US,” Jagdeo said.
