See full statement below
The Ministry of Natural Resources wishes to respond to an article published in the Kaieteur News edition of May 9, 2025 headlined, “7th oil project must not be approved without ring-fencing, other benefits- Dr. Adams.”
This piece of publication is perhaps the most toxic concoction of miscomprehension and blatant lies.
In this article, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams said the APNU+AFC regime “was actively pursuing a ring-fencing provision for the Stabroek Block…” but “these plans were however abandoned by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) when the administration was elected in 2020.”
The ministry wholly rejects this treacherous insult to the intelligence of Guyanese. Every man, woman and child is aware that it was the APNU+AFC that signed the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) in secret and hid the document for a year from public scrutiny.
When the contract did make the light of day, following unrelenting calls from the PPP/C, there was no ring-fencing provision in place. It would be recalled that the contract also contains a Stabilization clause that prevents Guyana from increasing its fiscal take, unless the oil operator agrees to same. If there are any arbitrary changes, that very clause emphatically states that ExxonMobil and its partners must be duly compensated for any economic loss it suffers at the hands of any new policy, regulation or law.
Citizens would also recall that the APNU+AFC never intended to apply ring-fencing provisions to ExxonMobil’s contract as falsely claimed by Dr. Adams. A simple check of the Kaieteur News archives proves this without question. In an article carried on August 5, 2019, headlined : “Energy dept. to demand more royalties, profit oil in future contracts,” it states the following:
“Further, this newspaper called on Dr. (Mark) Bynoe (former Head of the Energy Department) to say if the Model PSA will ensure that future deals signed with oil majors, will subject them to future changes in the country’s petroleum, tax and environmental laws. He was also questioned to say whether the new model PSA would have strict ring fencing provisions which would prevent costs of unsuccessful wells being deducted against those that are. To this, the Energy Department Head answered in the affirmative…”
In its 2025 piece, Kaieteur News claimed it contacted Dr. Bynoe who noted that the previous government was in talks with ExxonMobil on this issue. He is quoted saying : “I think it was in its early stages of discussion.” It appears that Kaieteur News has a comprehension problem. Nothing in the quote it supposedly extracted said anything about Exxon accepting ring-fencing being added as a provision to the Stabroek Block PSA. Yet, the article plasters its miscomprehension onto the vile and twisted malarkey of Dr. Adams, all in a desperate attempt at disinformation.
While the ministry commits to ensuring the public is apprised of the facts on all matters under its purview, we also urge citizens to see Kaieteur News for what it is—an entity that is hell bent on espousing ill-informed positions on the oil and gas industry.
