Two Members of Parliament (MP) have approached the Guyana House seeking an order for the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, to table all documents relating to the construction of the Wales Gas-to-Energy project and the Heads of Agreement signed on June 30, 2022.
The latter was signed between Guyana and ExxonMobil, outlining the basic terms governing the project. This project, heralded as the single most transformational project in Guyana’s history, has been heavily scrutinised in Guyanese media over the better part of the last three years. Questions tend to focus on its financial and environmental feasibility.
The Opposition motion, filed by Ganesh Mahipaul and seconded by Jermaine Figueira, stated that the government has been spending “huge sums of taxpayers’ money” without publishing the agreement between it and investors.
“The claim that the project is not finalised yet cannot be of merit because billions of dollars were already spent in 2022 and billions budgeted to be spent in 2023,” Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones said. “My conclusion is that this government is acting in secrecy and the people of Guyana elected me to ensure there is transparency and accountability for our money.”
The motion, if accepted by the Speaker of the House, will be debated in Parliament.
All agreements, policies for Gas-to-Energy project will be provided to Parliament, says Bharrat
The administration spent more than GY$20.8 billion in 2022 on start-up costs and consultancies. GY$43.3 billion is budgeted to start the main construction work on the natural gas power plant and natural gas liquids facility in 2023. The government plans to source US EXIM bank financing to meet the cost.
Laying of the pipeline is ExxonMobil’s responsibility. The estimated cost is US$1.3 billion.
