With billions already gained on the stock market from its oil find here, ExxonMobil and its partners can “more than afford” to pay Guyana US$1 billion instead of the US$18 million received as a signing bonus, according to energy expert Dr Vincent Adams, who also strongly believes that the government should go back to the negotiating table for a better deal.
“The company’s value increased significantly with Guyana’s discovery [in 2015], which is so far accounting for about 20% of the company’s total recoverable reserves, putting an additional US$200+ billion on its books—a humongous gain compared to Guyana’s US$18 million,” Adams, a former long-serving senior official with the US Department of Energy (DoE), told the Sunday Stabroek in an interview from the United States where he lives.
“They can more than afford to give more and, I believe, given that they have said all this talk about being a good corporate company and wanting the best for Guyana, etcetera, that if we go back to them, ask for a review and lay the case [for] why more money is needed, that it would be granted. That is what we should be doing now,” the Linden-born Adams added.
