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Guyana selects former Exxon officer's company to engage with Exxon in gas job

A recently formed company headed by a previous Exxon Mobil executive was selected to support the Guyana federal government and Exxon to create a new independent natural gas advancement in the country, Guyana's. Ministry of Natural Resources stated.

Fulcrum LNG offered the most detailed and technically. sound proposal among 17 bidders, the government stated in a. declaration. The ministry has engaged the business together with Exxon. to start the project, with ongoing conversations in an initial. phase, it said.

Guyana wants to put together a plan to monetize its vast. untapped natural gas resources and develop a 2nd leg to its. booming energy industry. The country is approximated to have 16. trillion cubic feet of gas off its Caribbean coast, according to. the U.S. Energy Info Administration.

Fulcrum LNG was established by Jesus Bronchalo, who invested 2. decades at Exxon, just recently as a vice president based in Guyana. Bronchalo left Exxon in the very first half of 2023. Corporate. records reveal he established Fulcrum LNG in Nevada in July in 2015,. functioning as CEO, secretary, treasurer and director.

The government of Guyana said that Bronchalo's past. relationship with Exxon was not seen as providing a conflict. of interest, because he had severed all ties with stated company.

Bronchalo did not respond to requests for comment.

Exxon has not chosen whether it will get involved on the. project to process and export gas.

Guyana has stated it would push forward the project, with or. without Exxon.

As the advancement of the gas resource is not an instant. top priority for the business, our federal government decided to seek a. capable independent third-party operator to either work with. ExxonMobil or carry out this activity on its own, the ministry. said.

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali recently stated an. contract with the government, that might or might not consist of. Exxon, is not anticipated till next year.

Exxon said that as a business policy, we don't comment on. industrial matters-- nevertheless, we stay dedicated to helping. Guyana develop its natural gas resources, maximizing worth for. all stakeholders.

Federal government officials said developing gas resources. was a national concern, with the objective of exporting gas from an. onshore facility to Brazil and using it to power the domestic. industry or construct a liquefied natural gas plant for exports.

FORMER EXXON EXECUTIVE

Throughout his 2020-2023 term as VP in Guyana, Bronchalo was in. charge of daily relations with the government and headed the. bidding process for a gas-to-energy project created to produce. electrical energy for industry and locals.

As Exxon's VP, he was the designer of the take-or-pay. agreement in which Guyana will pay Exxon $55 million per year. for the gas supply for the gas-to-energy job.

Bronchalo was likewise associated with the bidding procedure in which. Exxon granted a 20-year lease contract to the VESHI group to. develop a shorebase to support the company's offshore activities.

2 of the preliminary partners of the shorebase were targets of. a U.S. criminal investigation before the agreement was awarded,. exposed. The pair were sanctioned by the U.S. previously. this month.

Chinese oil giant CNOOC, among three members of a joint. endeavor accountable for all the country's oil production, came. in second from a list of 17 groups that submitted propositions to. Guyana, the ministry stated.

(source: Reuters)