When the late president Janet Jagan’s government awarded 600 offshore blocks to Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) in 1999, a key factor was the then government’s interest in attracting big name American investors who would help fend off Venezuela’s decades-old claim to the Essequibo region, sources say.
Moves in this regard date back to the late 1990’s, when Guyana had hoped to attract Beal Aerospace to launch satellites from the Waini area in the North West but the biggest breakthrough, however, came in 1999, when Jagan inked a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil’s subsidiary EEPGL.
The deal with Exxon coincided with also having United States-based Beal Aerospace also anchor in the Essequibo region since this country was seeking economic and strategic alliances.
