While he has not set a specific date, Justice of Appeal Rishi Persaud said that he will deliver his ruling within the next two weeks, on whether he has jurisdiction to order ExxonMobil to provide proof that it has indeed lodged a US$2 billion guarantee which is intended to indemnify Guyana against an oil spill and associated perils.
An application for proof that ExxonMobil has lodged the money as it claims, has been met with resistance by the Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA) and the oil company, which are contending that the court lacks jurisdiction to make such an order.
During a brief hearing of the case yesterday morning, attorney for the EPA, Sanjeev Datadin, reiterated the position of his clients that it is beyond the jurisdiction of the court to order the EPA and Exxon’s affiliate—Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited—to produce a copy of the US$2 billion guarantee.
