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Jagdeo backs one-year-old company to monetize Guyana’s gas
Bharat Jagdeo Vice President
…said the government knew that a former ExxonMobil vice president founded Fulcrum LNG
Kaieteur News – Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo expressed support for the one-year-old company, which has yet to complete any known projects, to monetize the country’s gas resources.
He told reporters at a press conference at Freedom House, Rob Street, Georgetown, on Thursday that the Government of Guyana (GoG) was aware of the company’s links with US oil giant ExxonMobil but had no qualms about it as the founders of Fulcrum LNG had severed ties with ExxonMobil.
Research by the Journal revealed that the founder of Fulcrum LNG is Jesus Bronchalo, who worked for ExxonMobil for 19 years and one month. His last position at the company was vice president and chief commercial officer for Guyana operations. His tenure ends in February 2023.
Five months later, in July 2023, Bronchalo reportedly founded energy company Fulcrum LNG, which has “experience and expertise in all aspects of the oil and gas value chain, including low-carbon solutions.”
The Government of Guyana subsequently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in January 2024, seeking private sector participation in the design, financing, construction and operation of natural gas infrastructure to support current and future upstream development in Guyana.
Proposals began to be accepted in February this year and by June, President Irfaan Ali announced the contract Awarded to Fulcrum LNG.
“We knew that this individual had worked at ExxonMobil and that he had left… We knew that when we did the assessment, but the assessment was done based on the recommendations that were made,” Jagdeo said Thursday.
The vice president joked, however, that the evaluators might have thought that Bronchalo had data on the gas, which gave his proposal a leg up, as being more comprehensive than those of other large multinational companies.
“He had left Exxon but if anything, the assessors probably thought he had the data on the gas. I don’t know if they actually did so he should have known because Exxon didn’t want to go in that direction or monetize the gas in that direction early on – they said they needed to reinject the gas. We had a different view,” Jagdeo explained.
To this end, the vice president believes that the best proposal was selected by the evaluators. According to him, “On the surface, I think this is the best proposal that the evaluators came up with and the one we were looking for, so I don’t think there is anything wrong with the bid evaluation and I didn’t find any major errors, except that he had worked with ExxonMobil before.”
When asked to comment on the fact that Fulcrum LNG had no known experience and had only been registered for one year, the vice president went on to defend the contract award, insisting that the founder had many years of experience in the field through his previous work at ExxonMobil. “But he has been with ExxonMobil for a long time, but he has been a project developer for a long time,” Jagdeo pointed out.
Fulcrum LNG Contract
Kaieteur News understands that the company will be responsible for the design, financing, construction and operation of gas infrastructure, including the pipelines required to connect the gas infrastructure which is critical for the monetization of upstream gas.
Furthermore, as part of the process, the company will have the right to negotiate exclusively with the government regarding its gas rights, ensuring the viability of the project and the entire value chain. Notably, the project will be strictly financed and 100% owned by Fulcrum LNG.
Based on the information received, the assessors evaluated the 17 proposals received based on a number of factors. The assessment requirements included: the developer’s ability and reputation to implement such a project, a clear written agreement between the parties and, in the case of a consortium, evidence of the consortium agreement, a project site plan, an overview and details of the project schedule, project costs, a project structure diagram, a business plan, a list of legal agreements, the proposed capital structure, and details of the proposed local content.
The deal between the Guyana government and former ExxonMobil executives continues to draw attention as company details remain unclear. Notably, Fulcrum LNG will be entrusted with developing the country’s gas resources for monetization, but given its relationship with ExxonMobil, stakeholders remain concerned as to whether Guyana’s interests are protected in the deal.
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