Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo made it clear during a recent press engagement that his primary responsibility is to the people of Guyana, not the shareholders of international oil companies.
His statement was in response to queries raised by an analyst who participated in Frontera Energy’s 2024 quarterly performance review. The analyst had questioned the Guyana government’s hesitancy on granting CGX and Frontera an extension for their Corentyne block licence.
At one of his previous press conferences, Jagdeo had disclosed that the government is not inclined to grant the extension, noting that sufficient answers were not provided on the companies’ wherewithal to support further appraisal works.
When asked about how the Guyanese government’s hesitancy to approve the notice of potential commercial interest in the Corentyne block, could affect the oil companies’ share prices, Jagdeo said, “…I don’t answer to the shareholders of these companies. I answer to the people of Guyana… You ask questions and you deserve an answer, and I will tell you what the government is doing and what its considerations are.”
Additionally, he pointed out that while companies like Frontera may present a favourable picture to their shareholders, this might not always align with the regulatory perspective of the Guyanese government.
“So a lot of these companies when they are confronted with their shareholders, they tend to paint a rosy picture of the country and not of their circumstances and that’s understandable, and it may not be the accurate picture seen from a regulatory perspective,” he noted.
To this end, Jagdeo further stressed that his comments had been in good faith and were based on factual considerations. He added that the government has done the same throughout its dealings with Frontera and CGX.
He noted, “The mere fact that we had the meetings to consider giving them an opportunity to present additional information on issues that were of concern to the Government of Guyana, showed that we operated in good faith throughout, and they were unable to do that.”
Despite this, Jagdeo pointed out that the Cabinet has not concluded its work and is still considering the matter.
Moreover, Jagdeo also asserted that international companies like ExxonMobil and CGX cannot dictate how he conducts press conferences or what information he provides to the people of Guyana.
