‘Nothing new from Norton’ – promises again to engage Exxon, but can’t say if he will demand taxes, more royalty
Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton
Kaieteur News – Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton is still promising to engage ExxonMobil for better benefits for the country but is unable to say whether he will demand taxes and more royalty from the company- two key aspects of the lopsided oil contract which his party when in government had signed that most people agree must be changed.
Norton, the leader of the People’s National Congress Reform during his press conference on Tuesday said, “Increasing our share of the pie is a must; and ensuring Guyanese benefit fully from oil revenues is a must.”
Kaieteur News therefore asked the Leader to say what specific areas in the Exxon deal he would seek to adjust for Guyanese to enjoy greater benefits, especially since there have been calls for the company to pay taxes and a fairer royalty to the country.
Presently, Exxon does not pay taxes to Guyana while a meager two percent royalty is paid to the country. Norton however could not say whether he would engage the company on those areas. Instead, he said, “No area is a sacred cow. We will engage on every aspect of the contract with the aim of bringing benefits to Guyana.”
He told Kaieteur News, “We have said article 32.1 of the PSA provides a wide range of opportunities for us to engage ExxonMobil and increase the benefits for the people of Guyana and we continue to be committed to that because the particular article is clear and provides avenues for us to engage Exxon and increase the benefits to the people of Guyana.”
Norton however maintained that the entire contract will be open for discussion. “We will engage on every aspect of the contract with the aim of bringing benefits to Guyana. Now it might be X and Y but as the time progresses, there might be more added. Sometimes some change but in essence, that article permits us to look at every aspect of the agreement and to improve the benefits to the people of Guyana,” he explained.
The PNCR in a previous statement said, “A new Coalition government will invite the company to the negotiation table within its first 50 days in government.”
Guyana’s oil deal has been repeatedly criticized both locally and by experts abroad. Even the incumbent administration before it was elected highlighted flaws in the contract and promised in its 2020 elections manifesto to renegotiate the oil contract. After being elected, the leadership of the party now argues that seeking a renegotiation of the contract could affect investment in the Stabroek Block and deter future investors.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young during this year’s Energy Conference encouraged Guyana that a renegotiation of its oil contract was possible. In fact, he pointed out that T&T had changed the fiscal terms of its oil and gas contracts to benefit the citizens but this did not deter investors.
He pointed out, “We in Trinidad and Tobago have spent the last seven years of our term successfully negotiating, and I can say here without fear of contradiction, every contract that we negotiated augurs better in direct revenue for the people of Trinidad and Tobago and the multinational oil and gas companies have not got up and run off.” Young reasoned that those companies are continuing to invest since “respect and fairness” are key pillars in business. “They continue to invest because it is all about respect and fairness of relationships and I offer that here to Guyana and to Suriname in a collaborative approach because you see I am convinced that [we can] work together to change the dynamics…” he said.
