Opposition Alliance for Change (AFC) leadership hopeful and attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes cannot definitively say now whether he will push for oil contract renegotiation with ExxonMobil, given that his law firm represents the oil company.
He made this revelation during his appearance on “Politics 101,” hosted by opposition Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Executive Member, Dr. David Hinds.
“Exxon is a client of our firm. I’m making it public now so nobody can say that I have never made it [known] – several of the oil companies are clients of our firm. I cannot comment on that,” the aspiring AFC Leader replied when asked about renegotiating the infamous 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil and its partners.
Hughes’ reluctance to comment on such a critical matter comes even as global eyes remain glued to Guyana’s burgeoning oil and gas sector – an industry that has earned the South American nation the moniker, “The Fastest Growing Economy in the World.” Notably, the title comes on the heels of a dubious one, “Longest Elections in Guyana’s History,” which characterizes the heavily contested and highly controversial, five-month-long 2020 General and Regional Elections that saw the nation on the brink of crisis.
With an equally expected heavily contested 2025 election and the opposition parties seeking citizen support to face off against the current managers of the state, attention is being placed on how politicians plan to prudently manage the resources of the oil and gas industry. But with Hughes incapable of saying if and how the party he seeks to lead will address the “lopsided” oil deal, it is unclear how the electorate will respond.
Hughes’ revelation about Exxon being a client comes even as his colleague, former AFC Leader, Raphael Trotman, who, as Natural Resource Minister, signed the deal, is nominated for General Secretary of the party. Trotman has, however, signaled his intention to see the deal renegotiated.
Despite Hughes not saying definitively if he as AFC leader will push for the renegotiation of the deal, he spoke about the establishment of committees to deal soley with oil and gas-related matters.
“What I have said is that I will set up committees – if we get into government – and commissions that are specifically dedicated to dealing with oil generally. I will insist that they hire the best professional advice internationally, both in terms of law, in terms of economics and in terms of the business of oil because the business of oil is the most sophisticated business on the planet because it runs the planet,” he said.
The nation will, however, have to wait perhaps until after Hughes’ fate as party leader is decided to hear about the direction in which he will advocate the party takes to overhaul the 2016 deal.
