President Irfaan Ali recycles the argument so often that it is now official doctrine: the 2016 Stabroek Block Petroleum Agreement is a bad deal for Guyana, but “sanctity of contract” prevents renegotiation. In his recent Al Jazeera interview, Ali again asserted the Agreement was bad and the companies benefited more, yet continued to invoke sanctity as though that answered the issue.
...
The sanctity argument is debunked by facts Ali rarely acknowledges. The 1999 Petroleum Agreement was replaced by the 2016 Agreement, itself the product of a renegotiation of the contractual relationship. Exxon’s own then Country Manager described the 2016 PSA as a renegotiation. The 2016 Agreement was later amended in 2019 over the treatment of the 2% royalty. ExxonMobil and its partners did not walk away. They accepted the new arrangement and continued investing.
...
The President also repeatedly raised the prospect that the oil companies might leave if Guyana presses for better terms. Yet his own Administration previously argued, in resisting ring-fencing, the circumstances change once investments are made. They will not walk. More importantly, the petroleum industry is replete with renegotiations – in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Trinidad and Tobago, Bolivia, Ecuador and Ghana, sometimes more than once. Some were difficult and some governments went far beyond anything being suggested for Guyana. In most cases the companies stayed. Where companies did leave, the circumstances commonly involved nationalisation, imposed terms or economics that became commercially unattractive.
...
That is fundamentally different from a host government asking for consensual discussions. Stabroek is not marginal acreage. It is a developed and highly productive petroleum province with enormous discoveries, several producing projects, established infrastructure and billions of dollars already invested. The geological and commercial risks today are vastly different from those existing when the Agreement was signed in 2016. Ali himself concedes the bargain favoured the companies, yet behaves as though those transformed circumstances are irrelevant.
...
The Government retains constitutional and other legal experts from across the Caribbean for matters in which it considers specialist advice necessary. Ali recently spoke of obtaining experts on contract financing in an area where the Agreement gives Guyana limited direct control. Yet on the fundamental legal question whether the State may formally seek consensual amendments to an agreement worth many billions of dollars to the country, no considered legal opinion has been placed before the public.
...
If the Government is serious, it should stop speculating about what the companies might do, and proceed to establish. Put a formal written proposal to Exxon, Chevron and CNOOC separately, identifying the provisions Guyana wishes to revisit, and publish the responses. If all three refuse, the country will at least know that the companies have closed the door. Until then, every assertion that they would “walk away” is conjecture being used to justify inaction.
...
That decision is not about one year or one budget. It is a decision to preserve for decades a bargain whose roots go back to 1999 and whose 2016 terms can govern the exploitation of Guyana’s principal petroleum resource far into this century. It is a bargain under which Guyana receives only a 2% royalty, shares profit oil after cost recovery, has to contribute to decommissioning, and assumes the contractors’ income-tax liability through the machinery of the Agreement. If Ali intends to leave those extraordinary concessions untouched for another generation and more, then that is his decision and he should man up to it.
...
anese are forced to live with the
...
the latter part of
...
century, they are entitled to know this is not some unavoidable command of contract law. It is President Irfaan Ali’s and the PPP/C’s political choice.
President Irfaan Ali recycles the argument so often that it is now official doctrine: the 2016 Stabroek Block Petroleum Agreement is a bad deal for Guyana, but “sanctity of contract” prevents renegotiation. In his recent Al Jazeera interview, Ali again asserted the Agreement was bad and the companies benefited more, yet continued to invoke sanctity as though that answered the issue.
...
Ali knows no serious critic is suggesting Guyana should renege on
...
Agreement. Reneging means refusing to honour a contract; renegotiation means asking the other parties to agree to different terms. If they agree, the amended agreement becomes the contract to be honoured. Ali’s conflation of the two
...
not merely mistaken but disingenuous. It turns a lawful request for better terms into an accusation of contractual dishonour and smacks of evasion.
...
cannot compel renegotiation
...
it can ask. The contractors may refuse
...
The sanctity argument is debunked by facts Ali rarely acknowledges. The 1999 Petroleum Agreement was replaced by the 2016 Agreement, itself the product of a renegotiation of the contractual relationship. Exxon’s own then Country Manager described the 2016 PSA as a renegotiation. The 2016 Agreement was later amended in 2019 over the treatment of the 2% royalty. ExxonMobil and its partners did not walk away. They accepted the new arrangement and continued investing.
...
the circumstances commonly
...
There is another point routinely obscured. Esso is the Operator, charged under Article 2.2 with conducting the day-to-day activities, but the Contractor comprises three parties. Those interests are held by Exxon, Chevron and CNOOC. The Agreement makes the distinction explicit and makes the obligations of the parties comprising the Contractor joint and several.
...
Government should therefore write formally to each of the companies, setting out the Guyana proposes to discuss and request individual responses. There is no reason to assume beforehand that three separate companies, with different ownership, commercial interests and relationships with Guyana, must inevitably take the same position.
...
In CNOOC’s case, Guyana also retains a substantial diplomatic relationship with China. There would be nothing improper in Government using its relationship with the Chinese Embassy to communicate the seriousness with which Guyana approaches the matter and its desire for constructive engagement. Diplomacy cannot rewrite a commercial contract, but neither should a sovereign state neglect legitimate diplomatic channels where they may assist.
...
Constitution, the
...
Ali recently spoke of obtaining experts on contract financing in
...
If the Government is serious, it should stop speculating about what the companies might do, and proceed to establish. Put a formal written proposal to Exxon, Chevron and CNOOC separately, identifying the provisions Guyana wishes to revisit, and publish the responses. If all three refuse, the country will at least know that the companies have closed the door. Until then, every assertion that they would “walk away” is conjecture being used to justify inaction.
...
That decision is not about one year or one budget. It is a decision to preserve for decades a bargain whose roots go back to 1999 and whose 2016 terms can govern the exploitation of Guyana’s principal petroleum resource far into this century. It is a bargain under which Guyana receives only a 2% royalty, shares profit oil after cost recovery, has to contribute to decommissioning, and assumes the contractors’ income-tax liability through the machinery of the Agreement. If Ali intends to leave those extraordinary concessions untouched for another generation and more, then that is his decision and he should man up to it.
PM sees room for further expansion of ties with China - Kiskadee Watch
# PM sees room for further expansion of ties with China
By Staff Editor Fri, September 18 2026, 2:12 AM GMT-4
Chinese Ambassador Yang Yang (left) sharing a toast with Prime Minister Mark Phillips (centre) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd. (Office of the Prime Minister photo)
Prime Minister Mark Phillips last evening said that Guyana and China have built a multifaceted relationship over more than five decades, while identifying several areas in which cooperation can be further developed.
The Prime Minister made the remarks at a reception hosted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China at the Guyana Marriott Hotel to commemorate the country’s National Day and the 77th anniversary of the founding of the republic.
A release from the Office of the Prime Minister said that Phillips reflected on the development of bilateral relations, noting that engagement between Guyana and China has been guided by mutual respect, cooperation and shared development interests.
The PM highlighted engagement in infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, education, transportation and human resource development.
The release said that he cited the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge, constructed by China Railway Construction Corporation International, as one example of cooperation in infrastructure. He also adverted to the Guyana Six Regional Hospitals Project and acknowledged the work of Chinese medical teams that have served in Guyana over the years.
Phillips also underscored trade as an important component of the relationship and said Guyana’s continued economic diversification provides room for further commercial engagement between the two countries.
Looking ahead, the Prime Minister said Guyana’s development priorities provide opportunities for additional areas of cooperation. He pointed to sustainable urban development, renewable energy, smart infrastructure, modern transportation and urban planning, as well as agriculture, food processing and agricultural technology.
Phillips also identified fisheries, aquaculture, marine science and environmental protection as areas in which Guyanese and Chinese institutions, universities, enterprises and technical partners could pursue further engagement.
“The question before us is not simply what we have achieved together, but what more we can accomplish together.”
You reached the end of this article without encountering a paywall.
That is deliberate. We believe reliable journalism about Guyana should be available to everyone from the hinterland to the coast, including those who cannot afford to pay for it. But investigating, reporting and publishing every story takes time, energy and resources. Keeping our journalism open depends on the commitment of readers who can chip in and contribute to help cover the cost for everyone.