“Hopelessly misguided” is what Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo called Elizabeth Deane-Hughes, Vanda Radzik, and international lawyer Melinda Janki for their attempt to block funding for Guyana’s Gas-to-Energy project from the U.S. EXIM Bank.
Janki reportedly wrote a letter to the financial institution on behalf of Hughes and Radzik on Jan. 12 requesting that it withhold the over US$600 million loan Guyana applied for, to offset costs relating to the project.
Jagdeo at his weekly media conference was asked to comment on the letter. To it, he said: “They are hopelessly misguided people who have done nothing for this country, who have cushy lives. All of them, their bread is well buttered.”
Construction of Guyana’s Gas-to-Energy power plant to commence in Q2 2024 – Minister | OilNOW
“They do not care that this project will deliver cheaper electricity to our business community and all of our citizens, that they would have to pay half of what they are paying now for power. They do not care that we will save US$100 million per year by doing this project. They do not care that we would have cheaper cooking gas and we would be exporting cooking gas. They do not care that this project can pay for itself,” he continued.
Hughes and Radzik alongside Janki have been at the forefront of anti-oil litigation branded by government as attempts to stymie development in Guyana.
The trio was branded obstructionists by Guyana’s Attorney General Anil Nandlall and the head of the Gas-to-Energy Task Force, Winston Brassington, last year when they mounted a case to challenge an environmental permit granted to ExxonMobil for the pipeline.
Another Exxon-led project may connect to Gas-to-Energy pipeline alongside Liza | OilNOW
They contend that Exxon did not have the requisite permission to conduct activities on the lands designated for the gas pipeline route to the power plant. The lands, some 75 acres, were compulsorily acquired by the Guyana government earlier in the year, with over GY$400 million doled out in compensation to pave the way for the pipeline’s construction. The orders sought by the activists would have essentially halted the multi-billion dollar project. The case did not go in their favor.
High Court Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry in her ruling determined that there was no evidence of the applicants being “personally aggrieved” by the EPA’s decision. She said too that the applicants did not logically relate what real public wrong occurred to them or the wider Guyanese populace that justified the quashing of the permit.
Exxon is responsible for the installation of the pipeline, while the Guyana government is responsible for an integrated facility earmarked for Wales, on the West Bank of Demerara.
The project, estimated to cost US$1.8 billion to develop, and is being marketed as the venture that will help slash electricity rates by 50% along with the enablement of a more attractive business environment.
Read more about the project here: All you need to know about Guyana’s Gas-to-Energy project (Updated) | OilNOW
