The absence of a united front allows oil companies to exploit our differences – Patterson
– Tells Parliament, “We’re ready for a better deal”
Coalition MP David Patterson during his address to parliament yesterday
Kaieteur News – The lack of a united front in managing Guyana’s resources has allowed oil companies to exploit the country’s differences, said Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) David Patterson.
During his budget presentation to the National Assembly yesterday, Patterson decrypted the split on the part of government and opposition, and recalled that this unsecured state had “adverse effects” on the country.
Against this background, Patterson noted that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU + AFC) coalition is ready to offer its support “in presenting a unified job” so that it can “address the alleged inadequacy in the [oil] contract and any other document, including the environmental permit. ”
“Our position is that once we present a unified post to our international partners, it will be more difficult for them to continue to ignore our concerns,” Patterson told the National Assembly gathered at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC).
This is the second recorded occasion where Patterson has shared the coalition’s support for the renegotiation of the ExxonMobil deal – one that has been deemed top and unfair to Guyana by local, regional and international experts.
Earlier in January, Patterson, the shadow Oil and Gas Minister, told a panel that “during the coalition’s five years in government,” he was never given the opportunity to correct the bad provisions in the deal. ”
Among the examples of a few of these substandard provisions structured in such a way that Guyana would suffer significant value spills, Guyana pays Exxon billions of dollars in taxes; pre-contract cost discrepancies; unspecified interest rates charged to Guyana for loans to the oil entities; weak environmental standards; Guyana’s inability to control oil production; and infrastructure cost discrepancies between Floating Production, Storage and Unloading ships Liza One and Liza.
However, Patterson said that if the new PPP / C government wishes to renegotiate such a deal, the coalition will offer their “unconditional support”.
Notably, during his time as Leader of the Opposition, who was now Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo repeatedly crossed the Exxon deal. Even in December 2020, the VP had disagreed with the fact that some of the words of the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) created the impression that ExxonMobil and its co-contractors had “sovereignty” over Guyana.
But even with these doubts and criticisms, the VP and the PPP / C government have refused to renegotiate Exxon’s docked contract.