Attorney General, Anil Nandlall said on Wednesday evening that the Government of Guyana will appeal the recent ruling by High Court Judge, Justice Sandil Kissoon which called for ExxonMobil to furnish the Environmental Protection Agency with unlimited parent company guarantee and/or affiliate company guarantee for oil spills for the Liza Phase One Project. The failure to do so within 30 days could see the permit being suspended.
Nandlall said the EPA and the Government of Guyana are of the considered view that the Environmental Permit imposes no obligation on the Permit Holder to provide an unlimited insurance coverage for oil spills.
In this regard, Nandlall said, “We hold the respectful opinion that the Learned Judge fell into error in his findings. This ruling can have profound ramifications and grave economic and other impacts on the public interest and national development.”
As a result, the decision of the Learned Judge will be appealed and orders will be sought to stay its effect until the hearing and determination of the appeal, the AG said in a statement.
He further noted that the Environmental Protection Agency and EEPGL spent almost a year negotiating a Parent Guarantee and Indemnity Agreement to the tune of US$2 billion in liability coverage in compliance with EEPGL’s financial assurance obligations under the Environmental Permit and the Environmental Protection Act.
He said these negotiations only concluded last week. The Attorney General also stated that these negotiations and their material details were placed before the Court for its consideration, but unfortunately to no avail.
