Dear Editor,
Reference is made to Mr. Mike Persaud’s letter in the Stabroek News (SN) edition of July 19, 2024, with the caption “No one knew Bhagwandin was on Exxon’s payroll”. No one knew that Nigel Hughes was on EMGL’s payroll since 2015/2016. It was the AFC’s faction of the APNU+AFC Government that was in control of the oil and gas sector; the AFC faction of the APNU+AFC Government negotiated the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (2016). In fact, there was no “negotiation”, they signed an Agreement drafted and imposed by EMGL.
It would be recalled that even former President Granger was unaware of what took place. As a demonstration of his dissatisfaction of the manner in which the AFC faction managed the oil and gas sector, he removed the portfolio completely from the former AFC Minister, Rafael Trotman, to the Office of the President.
In contrast to Nigel Hughes, whom I described as having an incestuous relationship with EMGL, I disclosed that the contract between EMGL and SphereX was entered into in January 2024, under the strict conditionality that SphereX will not take any position against the Government of Guyana, and more so, against the national interest. As such, let me state categorically that I stand firmly by all of my previous positions underpinned by my analytical work as it relates to the oil and gas sector.
The reason I terminated the contract with EMGL is not only because they refused to comply with their internal anti-corruption policies and political activities guidelines; but primarily because their failure to do so means that EMGL is overtly and barefacedly attempting to influence the outcome of the upcoming general and regional elections in 2025. In other words, they have a horse in the race. Thus, from my vantage point, this is against our national interest, and it is an act consistent with what I did in 2021.
In 2021, I was a senior manager of a global professional services firm operating in Guyana, hired by ExxonMobil Headquarters, to lobby the Government of Guyana to develop a national development and competitiveness strategy, and to lobby against the Gas-to-Energy (GtE) project. I was strongly opposed to this, and prevented the firm from meeting with the government to make their pitch. I almost got fired for this. My principals then asked me whether I am working for their firm or the Government. I said I am Guyanese first and I didn’t care if they fired me for that. No foreigner was going to come through me, to impose a development strategy for Guyana, financed by the oil companies and to block the GtE. I didn’t allow that to happen, and it didn’t happen.
I wish to also clarify that I am not a government employee or official. The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) is a constitutional body, which means that the commissioners of that body are constitutional officers of the State, not the Government. Accordingly, I do not have an employment contract with the government; what I have is an instrument of appointment by the President, having been duly nominated and approved by way of a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. Further, as an independent body, the PPC does not report to the Executive Arm of Government, neither does it take instructions from the Executive Arm of Government, it reports directly to the National Assembly.
In respect of the “renegotiation” of the PSA, I have argued that technically the PSA has already been renegotiated by virtue of the oil companies’, including EMGL’s participation in the auction for new oil blocks, wherein the new model PSAs were the subject of that auction. Consequently, this is an acceptance of the new and improved fiscal terms thereof. Therefore, the question is no longer about “renegotiation”, it is now about application of the new PSA to future production licenses. And the question should be, when and which new production licenses should it be applied to in relation to the Stabroek Block. I will address this in greater detail in due course.
Sincerely,
Joel Bhagwandin