Upon observing many of the public comments and even media reports on the oil industry, Foreign Secretary, Carl Greenidge is of the opinion that a lot of time was wasted attacking ExxonMobil, the company that has been with Guyana since the 90s. According to Greenidge, the real pressure should always be on the government.
During an exclusive interview with Guyana Standard moments ago, the official said, “Indeed we could have been more prepared for first oil than we are now…There is no shame in that. But instead of cussing out the company, direct attention to the government, put pressure on government to acquire more skills to build a better technical team as well as ensure the significant enhancement of the Ministries of Finance and Natural Resources, and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).”
The Foreign Secretary said that he has no issue with persons highlighting the past of the company but in many instances, he said that attacks on the company were simply unnecessary and misguided.
Greenidge also stressed that ExxonMobil is not Guyana’s enemy or problem. He said that Guyana’s problem remains Venezuela and for the Spanish-speaking Nation, its main issue is the American super major.
Furthermore, the Foreign Secretary warned that if Exxon left, Venezuela would be thrilled since Guyana would be stymied from moving forward with the immediate development of its resources. Greenidge also articulated that Venezuela is still a real threat. He emphasized that nothing has changed about that. “But our job is to assure the International community that the diplomatic and legal initiatives are as such that it can dissuade Venezuela from taking action,” the official said.
