Though respectful of the public’s right to know how much oil companies are spending and recovering to cover their investments, there are some categories of information that just cannot be disclosed due to their proprietary nature, says Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.
The chief policy maker for the oil sector said this would include for example, cost recovery statements and expenditure forecasts which are submitted to the State on a quarterly basis by the ExxonMobil-led consortium heading the Stabroek Block.
The official made this clarification in response to recent queries about the administration’s willingness to release Exxon’s cost recovery statements as well as its expenditure forecast for exploration, development, and production. Members of the political opposition as well as civil society groups have called for these documents to be released so that citizens may independently determine the rate at which Exxon’s investments are being recovered.
ExxonMobil Guyana currently has four sanctioned projects offshore. Company officials have said that the equivalent development cost for the US$3.6 billion Liza Phase 1 Project has already been recovered with a portion of the US$6 billion Liza Phase 2 Project covered too. Exxon has also embarked on a US$9 billion Payara Project and the US$10 billion Yellowtail Project. Discussions are ongoing for the approval of Exxon’s US$12.7 billion Uaru Project and the Whiptail project. The company is also running back-to-back exploration campaigns to unlock the multi-billion-barrel potential of the Stabroek Block.
The Vice President said it is not the norm or industry practice for those reports to be made public, as they are proprietary. That aside, the official said he is wary of misrepresentations in the media.
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“…in no country in the world, you would not find intermediate reports being released to the media. You show me a country that is doing this where oil operations are concerned and we will do it,” the official said.
Even as he holds this view, the Vice President said the administration will remain open to examining the pros and cons of the suggestion and seeing if a middle ground could be reached.
