Placing the petroleum agreement between Guyana and ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited in the public domain is a step in the right direction and provides a basis for healthy conversation about what it contains.
This is the view of the company’s Senior Director, Public and Government Affairs in Guyana, Kimberly Brasington. “For the contract to be in the public domain is a fantastic step in the right direction and so, everybody can take a look at it and what the terms look like and how we are going to abide by those terms,” she said.
Speaking during an interview at ExxonMobil’s head office on Monday, Brasington noted that the contract will also facilitate good healthy conversations as it will allow Guyanese to analyze its contents.
She added that, “People will now have the opportunity to dissect it, challenge it, and that is a part of it being a healthy conversation and we welcome that.”
ExxonMobil, she said, is committed to operating in a fair and transparent manner in Guyana, as it does throughout the world.
“We do stand by the contract, just as we do all contracts all over the world. We operate in a fair manner everywhere. Guyana is no exception,” Brasington stated.
The Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) was released on December 28 at a special presentation held at the Ministry of the Presidency in Georgetown, Guyana. ExxonMobil then held a press conference the same day to further explain the terms of the contract and answer questions from the media.
Prior to its release, the agreement had attracted much attention in the media with several civil society groups and other stakeholders calling for its release.
British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn, told OilNOW in a recent interview that while the Guyana government and oil companies will ultimately have to decide what aspects of their agreements would be disclosed, this should apply to all companies equally.
“Ultimately it is for the companies and the government to decide exactly what should be released and then making sure whatever is decided should actually apply to everybody equally. It is certainly not fair for one company to be required to do something when every other company isn’t,” the High Commissioner pointed out.” he said.
Meanwhile, ExxonMobil Corporation announced last Friday that drilling at the Ranger-1 exploration well offshore Guyana encountered approximately 230 feet (70 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing carbonate reservoir, making it the company’s 6th discovery in the South American country.
The Ranger-1 well discovery adds to previous world-class discoveries at Liza, Payara, Snoek, Liza Deep and Turbot, which are estimated to total more than 3.2 billion recoverable oil-equivalent barrels.
