The focus must be on what to do about the oil contract now

shuts down calls for ... ation of Exxon ... Kaieteur News ... ation of Exxon ... Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo ... Kaieteur News – General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, has reiterated his party’s position that there will be no renegotiation of the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil. ... His remarks come in response to commitments from opposition parties A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Alliance For Change (AFC), and We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), who are promising on the campaign trail to engage ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) for better terms if elected after the September 1 general elections. ... On Thursday Jagdeo was asked for the PPP’s current stance. He dismissed the opposition’s pledges as a political bluff. “So, you said on the campaign trail, they are promising renegotiation. So APNU has danced around this issue their whole lives, APNU and AFC, they have danced around the issue,” Jagdeo noted. ... He said that Exxon has made it clear that it will not agree to any renegotiation of the 2016 contract. Moreover, he explained that the PSA includes a stabilisation clause which prevents the government from unilaterally altering the contract terms without financial consequences. “Exxon has already said no, so you can’t have mutual agreement any longer for renegotiation, so that means unilateral change to the agreement and if you change unilaterally, there is a stability clause to say it must not affect them adversely, so we have to compensate them.” ... He challenged the opposition to explain how they intend to address these hurdles if Exxon maintains its position. “Those two questions will give you all the answers you need, and then you will see who is messing around with the people of this country we don’t do that. We tell them, honestly, what we can do and what we can’t do, and they [APNU + AFC] left us with this, this useless contract you… If you ignore those two things, then you’re just bull@&$ people,” Jagdeo said. ... The PPP General Secretary acknowledged that while his party “wishes” they could renegotiate the deal, the stabilisation clause and Exxon’s refusal leave no room to do so. Instead, he said, the government has sought to balance the agreement’s shortcomings through other initiatives. “At the end of the day, you can’t even succeed, because any international arbitration will say the government voluntarily, willingly sign on to these clauses. Nobody held a gun to their head,” the Vice President added. ... He cited the Local Content Law, revised petroleum regulations, the gas-to-energy project, and a new model PSA with improved fiscal terms as the government’s efforts to improve the oil sector framework. However, it should be noted that the new PSA does not apply to the Stabroek Block contract. “They just, oh, negotiate, renegotiate, and they are lying to the people of the country,” Jagdeo stated. Jagdeo further urged reporters to ask the opposition parties directly if they are prepared to unilaterally alter the contract in defiance of Exxon’s stance. ... Article 32 of the Exxon contract, which lists out conditions for ‘Stability of the Agreement’ states at 32.1 that, ‘Except as may be expressly provided herein, the Government shall not amend, modify, rescind, terminate, declare invalid or unenforceable, require renegotiation of, compel replacement or substitution, or otherwise seek to avoid, alter, or limit this Agreement without the prior written consent of Contractor.” ... in conformance with ... applying to this ... of or any new ... related fiscal obligation, including ... any new taxes whatsoever ... tax (VAT ... or other impost