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Guyana could face suspension, possible delisting from EITI for failing to update oil reserves Jul 08, 2024 News Kaieteur News – Guyana, a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) since 2017, can face suspension and even delisting from the body for failing to disclose data on the country’s oil, gas or mineral reserves. Map showing a few of the discoveries made to date by ExxonMobil in Guyana’s Stabroek Block EITI is a global standard that promotes the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources in member states. Guyana became the 53rd EITI implementing country on 25th October, 2017. The country is therefore expected to abide by the requirements and standards outlined to maintain its membership. Notably, Requirement Three which is specific to exploration and production activities states that implementing countries and companies are expected to “disclose data on proven economic oil, gas or mineral reserves, where available.” Meanwhile, further research conducted by this newspaper found that the country can be suspended for failing to meet these requirements and principles of the EITI. Article 8.1 states, “Where it is manifestly clear that a significant aspect of the EITI Principles and EITI Requirements are not adhered to by an implementing country, the EITI Board will suspend or delist the country.” Where the EITI Board is concerned that adherence to the EITI Principles and EITI Requirements is compromised, it may task the EITI International Secretariat with gathering information about the situation and submitting a report to the EITI Board. Suspension of an implementing country is a temporary mechanism. The EITI Board shall set a time limit for the implementing country to address breaches of the EITI Standard. During the period of suspension, the country will have the status “suspended”. If the matter is resolved to the satisfaction of the EITI Board by the deadline, the country’s status and level of progress will be reinstated, however, if the matter has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the EITI Board by the deadline, the EITI Board will delist the country. Guyana was suspended temporarily by the EITI Board on 1 February 2023 for failing to publish its 2020 EITI Report. Following the publication of the report on June 30, 2023, the Secretariat informed that the suspension had been lifted. A new suspension could however be looming as the government has kept citizens in the dark regarding the oil reserves in the Stabroek Block, although the operator, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) has been conducting appraisal activity to determine the value of its discoveries. The last resource estimate in 2022 of the Stabroek Block determined that the country had approximately 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves. Since then, however, Exxon has announced an additional eight discoveries. President Irfaan Ali during a press conference last month at State House, Georgetown was asked by Kaieteur News to comment on the perceived lack of transparency in the management of the petroleum sector by his government. In response, the Head of State explained, “I can’t respond to perception, what facts are you bringing? If you are saying, there is lack of transparency where is the lack of transparency?” Notably, the President did not allow Kaieteur News to cite specific examples but he noted that he does not need to address matters relating to the sector since the VP answers questions weekly in that regard. After Ali pointed to the enactment of a new Petroleum Activities Act to govern the sector, the passage of the Local Content legislation, as well as the new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) crafted by his government, Kaieteur News alerted the Head of State that the country is still in the dark on the interest rates being charged while there has also been no update to the Stabroek Block reserves in two years. The President however maintained, “I don’t know that there’s a lack of transparency. I can’t agree with you and I can say to you that all the revenue we have received is published according to law and there is remedy in the legislation if those revenues are not published.” Meanwhile, the Head of State noted that work was ongoing to update the country’s reserves and when information in that regard becomes available, it will be shared publicly. He said, “Now in terms of the finds and the commercial viability, that is ongoing work and as the information becomes available, whatever information is there that becomes available will be shared publicly. You can rest assure we have no interest in not revealing the reserves that we have because we want more persons to be attracted.” While the President has committed to revealing the updated reserves, as this would be in the best interest of the country, the government has refused to provide the public with recent data in that regard although Exxon has publicly revealed that appraisal activities are ongoing to determine the viability of the resources that have been discovered to date. The last resource estimate in 2022 of the Stabroek Block determined that the country had approximately 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves. Since then, however, Exxon has announced an additional eight discoveries. Stakeholders believe that the government is deliberately withholding the updated oil reserves from the public as this would lead to more public pressure for a renegotiation of the 2016 oil deal with Exxon. Related Similar Articles

Despite Govt.’s real-time monitoring of production data from Exxon, public still faced with delayed updates Jul 08, 2024 News Graph on the Ministry’s website showing the last date oil production data was updated. Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana (GoG) now has real-time monitoring of production activities ongoing in the prolific Stabroek Block, by oil giant, ExxonMobil. Despite this new development however, as announced on Thursday by Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, the public continues to face delays in accessing this information. Two years ago, in August, following intense pressure by transparency activists for the release of production data by the company, the Ministry of Natural Resources directed this newspaper to the Petroleum Management Programme’s Data Centre, where Exxon’s production data was updated monthly. Notably, the website offers data regarding the number of barrels produced at the Liza One and Liza Two, Payara projects in the Stabroek Block, as well as the daily reported injected gas, flared gas and gas used for fuel. It also gives an overview on the Brent Crude prices and the amount of water produced and injected. Environmental and transparency activists have been relentlessly stressing the need for such data to be shared with the public and more so, be updated in a timely fashion to avoid altering of information. These key production data are critical to stakeholders to keep the government and the operator of the Stabroek Block accountable. The data on the portal, presented on graphs- which no doubt poses a challenge to the ordinary citizen to interpret- are often updated belatedly each month. This newspaper has been highlighting the delayed sharing of information by the Ministry for several months now. Notably, citizens expected that with daily reports now being accessed by the Ministry, the public would have access to more timely information on the sector as well. This however has not been the case. On Sunday, Kaieteur News reviewed the production data on the website to ascertain whether there would be greater efficiency in reporting by the Ministry to keep the public informed; however, it was discovered that the information has not been updated since May 31, 2024. It was Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo who announced on Thursday, during his weekly press engagement at Freedom House Georgetown that the government now has real-time access to Exxon’s production data, which is updated every 10 minutes. He said the operator of the Stabroek Block now has a dashboard which is monitored by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). In addition to production data, Jagdeo said government now also has access to Exxon’s drilling activities in the Stabroek Block. Previously, VP Jagdeo had expressed discontent with the delayed production updates being provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources to the public. Last November, Jagdeo issued a directive to the Ministry of Natural Resources to address the issues with the website. His call for action came after multiple reports by this newspaper about the pressing need to ensure transparency and reliable information sharing on the oil sector. The failure by the Ministry of Natural Resources to update the website defeats the purpose of the portal to keep Guyanese informed on the exploitation of the oil and gas resources and further brings the government’s commitment to transparency into question, at a time when citizens question the “incestuous relationship” between the oil companies and government. Related Similar Articles