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ExxonMobil project plans cannot be released to public: Minister Vikram Bharat
Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat at the half-year press conference
…document is “very technical” and contains proprietary information
Kaieteur News – India’s Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat has said the Field Development Plan (FDP), the blueprint for an offshore oil project being developed by US oil major ExxonMobil, cannot be made public.
Speaking to reporters at his semi-annual press conference on Wednesday, Barratt said he took note of comments by former Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, who called on the government to “make everything public” and that “all Guyanese should know”.
Patterson said in an invited comment Kaieteur News Oil belongs to all of Guyana, so how it is managed should be a matter for every citizen, technical or not.
The FDP outlines how a company intends to develop an oil field, how environmental and social impacts will be managed, and projections for production and costs. These documents are critical to holding developers and the government accountable for the management of the country’s oil resources, which are the main driver of Guyana’s economy.
ExxonMobil has approved six projects so far, but the FDPs outlining the specifications for each have not been released to the public. This newspaper recently obtained copies of the Liza One and Liza Two projects. Kaieteur News As revealed in a previous article, with the help of FDP, ExxonMobil has been producing far more oil than each project was designed to produce, raising concerns that the oil could run out before the 20-year project lifespan.
However, the government was reluctant to announce the company’s project plans to the nation.
Minister Barratt stressed that this is a highly technical document that cannot be released to the public. “I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to see what the FDP looks like, it’s about 1,000-2,000 pages; that’s the size of the FDP, and it’s very technical and contains proprietary information.”
To this end, he suggested that people with specific questions about the FDP could submit them to his office to receive responses. Nonetheless, he noted that the proprietary nature of certain information may prevent it from being shared publicly. To clarify his stance on the matter, Minister Bharat said he does not believe that any other country in the world provides such an opportunity to its citizens.
On the other hand, he disclosed that there is currently an FDP submitted to the registry and the government has made public the licenses and environmental permits of each project, which are the product of the FDP.
However, the minister stressed that “if you have any questions, we are always available to provide information. I don’t know what questions the LDP will ask or what they are looking for, but we are willing to provide answers.”
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