Government’s petroleum adviser, Dr Jan Mangal says that with the discovery of the ExxonMobil Liza well, competitive bidding should be employed in the award of oil exploration leases.
In a letter in yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek, Mangal was responding to a news item in the Guyana Times of September 14th headlined ‘Minister’s relatives, friends now applying for oil licences’, where reference was made to Dr Mangal and a relative of his.
Dr Mangal in his letter noted that the news item raises concerns about the type of process used in the award of petroleum leases or blocks i.e. the “one-on-one negotiation” or “open door” method.
The adviser noted that in the
