By stressing the illegality of the APNU+AFC government, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is indirectly pressuring major players in Guyana’s oil industry like United States oil giant, ExxonMobil.
This was recently noted by a Research Professor employed by the United States Navy, Dr. Evan Ellis.
In February, Dr. Ellis visited Guyana where he had interviews with government officials, members of the opposition, and a few prominent players in the private sector.
Dr. Ellis then wrote a paper — Navigating Guyana’s Muddy Waters —where he chronicled his findings and made recommendations about the role the United States government should play in Guyana’s political crisis.
Dr. Ellis wrote, “PPP leaders are careful to express their support for Exxon, and it is the party’s intention to honor the contracts Guyana has signed under the Granger government (even while complaining that the government did not get as good of a deal as it should have). But the PPP’s emphasis on the ‘illegality’ of the government after March 19 indirectly pressures Exxon and other players in the sector by casting doubt over any contractual proceedings that they enter into with the government, as the possible start of oil production in 2020 draws closer.”
Dr. Ellis said that in doing so, PPP leaders “doubtlessly understand that creating contractual concerns for Exxon (with its strong connections in Washington), could further motivate Washington to put pressure on the Granger government to resolve the elections dispute with an urgency that would favor the PPP.”
