Former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams is maintaining that during his tenure at the regulatory body, October 2018 to August 2020, there were detailed discussions as well as an agreement that ExxonMobil Corporation would cover costs associated with an oil spill which cannot be satisfied by its subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL).
His affirmation comes on the heels of a revelation by EEPGL President, Alistair Routledge that there was never such an agreement as claimed by Dr. Adams.
Dr. Adams said he finds it necessary to state, for the record, that he was honest with the citizenry when he made pronouncements on the issue and is now challenging the EPA to release the relevant records to clear his name.
In a missive to the media today, Dr. Adams said, “…With respect to the US$2.5 Billion insurance being denied, there is documentation (showing) otherwise, at the EPA. The fact is that Mr. Rod Henson, Exxon’s former Country Manager, hand-delivered to me and the EPA Attorney, the insurance documentation, the details of which were explained by Mr. Henson, and which I personally added up to value approximately US$2.5 Billion. That document sits in the EPA files, so I call upon the EPA to release it.”
Dr. Adams added, “…Since around April 2019 to August 2020, regular meetings were held among the lawyers of the EPA and EEPGL to agree upon how liabilities above the US$2.5 Billion, would be shared among the parent companies of ExxonMobil, Hess, and CNOOC. Draft documents detailing their proposal were brought to each of these meetings, and I was briefed after each meeting.”
With this in mind, Dr. Adams said he challenges Exxon to deny these meetings, recognizing that these draft documents, emails, and calendars of participants can be retrieved.
Further to this, the former EPA head was keen to note that he previously made numerous statements about the US$2.5B insurance arrangement as well as being able to secure beyond this. He said therefore that Exxon should explain to Guyanese why it is only now challenging his statements and not before when they were first made.
Another perspective for consideration he said is that the highly publicized US$2.5 Billion insurance provision had caught the attention of the Guyana Insurance Association, which contended that the insurance carried by a foreign company, has to be transferred to Guyana in accordance with Guyana’s laws. The former EPA Boss said this triggered a meeting among representatives of the Bank of Guyana, the Guyana Insurance Association, the Department of Energy, and the EPA, at the Office of the Governor of the Bank of Guyana.
He said the discussions were held to ascertain how the relevant stakeholders would proceed with the transfer of the insurance to Guyana.
Dr. Adams further noted that numerous email exchanges amongst the parties exist to prove that the meeting was held, along with the reason for the meeting and its agenda.
In light of the foregoing arguments, the former EPA head said it is insulting that ExxonMobil Guyana, once again, seems to believe that Guyanese people are “stupid, attempting to bamboozle us with fanciful talk to camouflage the truth.”
Dr. Adams said he will now leave this matter to the Guyanese people to decide who is believable.
