Finding that Guyana lost out in an “unfairly exploitative” deal with the 2016 revision of its Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Exxon and its partners for the offshore Stabroek Block, international corruption watchdog Global Witness yesterday released the details of an investigation to support its call for government to push for a renegotiation, which it says should also be supported by Washington.
In a report, titled ‘Signed Away: How Exxon’s exploitative deal deprived Guyana of up to US$55 billion,’ Global Witness said that ExxonMobil’s aggressive tactics with inexperienced Guyanese officials saw this country getting only 52% of revenue compared to global averages between 65% and 85% and would see the country losing out on an estimated US$1.3 billion per year.
“The Guyanese government should renegotiate Exxon’s Stabroek oil licence. The government should seek a share of revenue that equates with international standards, increasing Exxon’s financial obligations such as royalty and income tax payments,” the report recommends, while saying that prior to negotiations the government should commission an independent evaluation to determine what the country deserves from the licence.
