Local transparency group Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI) has criticised the award of the 26,800 sq km block to ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary and its partners under a single licence, arguing that it was a breach of the regulations and has done material harm to the country.
The criticisms by TIGI relate to the deal signed with Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) by the PPP/C government in 1999 and the one clinched by the same Exxon subsidiary with the APNU+AFC government in 2016.
A number of commentators have pointed out that the 1999 award to EEPGL illegally encompassed 600 blocks when the maximum was 60. The 2016 agreement did not rectify this. Persons knowledgeable about the 1999 deal have said that the PPP/C government made a strategic decision to award a much larger acreage to the US oil major.
