Several Grenadians now feel a sense of betrayal by the New National Party (NNP) government of Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell on the oil and gas deal reached with the Global Petroleum Group (GPG) of Russia.
The citizens of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique have to rely on media sources outside of Grenada for the little bits and pieces of our potential oil and gas resources in the face of an almost deafening silence by government.
And our people have been comparing the transparent manner in which Guyana, a fellow member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as Grenada has been very open in its dealings with the U.S giant, ExxonMobil which is engaged in oil and gas drilling in its waters.
The Guyanese people have been kept abreast by the government in Georgetown about the potential financial benefits to the country from each and every oil find that is made by Exxon.
There was another oil find in Guyana’s territorial waters three weeks ago and the following report was made available not only to the people of Guyana but the world-at-large.
It reads: “ExxonMobil made a new oil discovery at the Yellowtail-1 well offshore Guyana, the company announced.
This marks the 13th discovery on the Stabroek Block and adds to the already 5.5-billion barrels of oil equivalent in the block.
Yellowtail-1 is also the fifth discovery in the Turbot area, which is expected to become a major development hub.
Yellowtail-1, which is located about six miles northwest of the Tilapia discovery, was drilled to a depth of 18,445 feet (5,622 meters) in 6,046 feet (1,843 meters) of water. Drilling on the well commenced March 27.
“Similar to the Liza area, successive discoveries in the Turbot area have continuously grown its shared value,” Mike Cousins, senior vice president of ExxonMobil Exploration and New Ventures said in a company statement.
“Our success here can be attributed to our industry-leading upstream capabilities, the strength of our partnerships and our ongoing commitment to growing Guyana’s offshore potential.”
ExxonMobil previously stated there was potential for at least five floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels on the Stabroek Block producing more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025.
ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block while Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 percent interest”.
Why can’t our own government in Grenada tell the nation what percentage of the financial take it will get from the GPG deal? Why this continued secrecy?
THE NEW TODAY is not blaming GPG for any advantageous position that it was able to secure from government since as a private sector business concern its primary objective is profit-making and not losses from its investment.
GPG would have advanced millions to the NNP government over the years and will certainly want to recover it down the road once oil and gas have been discovered.
And it should be noted that the government has never told the people who were its team of negotiators who met with the Russians to hammer out the oil and gas exploration agreement.
At least, the 2008-13 National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of former Prime Minister Tillman Thomas was very transparent in giving the names of its team led by Dr. Carl Mitchell that negotiated the boundaries between Grenada and Trinidad when the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter David was the line minister in that period.
What it is that GPG found in Grenada’s territorial waters? Is it both oil and gas or only gas?
It should be noted that the Russian company signed an agreement in which government was noticeable absent with a company in Trinidad for all the gas that can be exploited in Grenadian waters. This agreement did not mention anything about oil.
There is now a Chinese company in the mix from all reports and Grenadians have no information on how much the new entrant into its oil and gas business will be taking away from the deal.
It begs the question – why is the Grenada oil and gas deal covered in so much mystery?
It is only a few in the NNP regime who seemingly know anything about this secret deal between GPG and the Government of Grenada.
Why should oil and gas patrimony become the personal domain of a few in the country like Prime Minister Mitchell and his Energy Minister, Gregory Bowen?