Facing growing questions about his role in the awards of oil exploration blocks in the waning days of the PPP/C administration in 2015, former Minister of Natural Resources Robert Persaud yesterday said he has nothing to hide but remained tightlipped on the rationale behind his advice to grant the prime offshore acreage to two unproven companies.
Breaking his long-held silence on the matter, Persaud said that actions taken by the PPP/C administration to lay the foundation for Guyana to become an oil-producing nation were in “full conformity” with laws. His comments came in the form of a post on his Facebook page and followed a Sunday Stabroek article yesterday which reported that he is seen as a key figure in a State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) probe on the award of the exploration blocks.
“I have not been contacted by SARA or any other entity regarding the issue of ‘oil blocks.’ I do support any independent, non-partisan review of the previous and current governments award of petroleum exploration licenses in Guyana’s offshore,” said Persaud yesterday in the Facebook post.
