Patterson hosts latest Guyana-Suriname border talks
From Sharief Khan in Montego Bay
FROM one Caribbean beach and golf resort to another - the search is set to continue here today for an agreement to allow Canadian CGX Energy Inc to resume drilling for oil in the zone offshore Guyana from which Suriname gunboats forced out the rig last month. The June 3 gunboat action triggered the latest border dispute between the two countries and Jamaica Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, appointed Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Facilitator for talks between President Bharrat Jagdeo and outgoing Suriname President Jules Wijdenbosch, is trying to help them reach agreement on getting the rig back to the Eagle site. CGX believes Eagle is one of two world-class giant oilfields in the 15,464 square kilometre concession it was awarded by the Guyana Government in 1998. Mr Delano Franklyn, Chief Adviser to Patterson, yesterday said the Jamaica leader is trying to "establish a modality for exploring the benefits of the exploratory drilling in the disputed area". He told the Chronicle in a telephone interview from the Jamaica capital Kingston in the south of the island, the talks are expected to run into tomorrow. Patterson, asked by CARICOM leaders at their 21st summit in Canouan last week to be mediator between the two sides in the border dispute, was present at the two meetings they had there. Franklyn, noting the row has been on for some time, said the Prime Minister has set aside today and tomorrow for the discussions. A settlement will not come overnight and Patterson's "main task is for a modality to be determined with an understanding on either side as to how the exploratory drilling is to take place", he said. Reaching a settlement will "require a lot of discussions and understanding on either side", he said. Franklyn said a resolution would call for "a format which would enable peaceful co-existence". He said Patterson was hopeful for a resolution to the dispute as he plays host to Mr Jagdeo and Mr Wijdenbosch at the sprawling Half Moon Golf, Tennis and Beach Club at this famous tourist resort destination on Jamaica's north coast. The two presidents and their delegations arrived here yesterday and the mediation talks which started last week at the CARICOM summit in Canouan - another acclaimed tourist resort in the St Vincent and Grenadines chain of islands - are due to resume this morning at the Half Moon resort. With Mr Jagdeo are Foreign Minister Clement Rohee, Ambassadors Rudy Collins and Elizabeth Harper, former Foreign Minister Rashleigh Jackson, consultant Dr Barton Scotland, Head of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Mr Brian Sucre and Lands and Surveys Commissioner, Mr A. Datadin. Officials involved in the talks said Mr Patterson was due to meet Mr Jagdeo and Mr Wijdenbosch separately last night to set the stage for the sessions starting this morning. Franklyn said the outcome will depend on the "character of the discussions" and Patterson "is hopeful there is some kind of understanding between the parties". Asked if the Suriname delegation included representatives of the new government set to take over later this month, that country's Natural Resources Minister, Mr Errol Alibux said there were "politicians" in the team. "The Suriname delegation consists of Suriname people, politicians, specialists...this is a manifestation of the national unity in Suriname regarding this issue", he offered. Wijdenbosch, who lost general elections in May this year, steps down later this month but members of the incoming government have not been in the delegation before for talks with Guyana. Alibux, who led the delegation of the former Dutch colony at three rounds of ministerial talks with Guyana on the dispute which ended in failure last month, said Suriname remained "optimistic for all kinds of settlement that can enhance the friendship between the two nations and the two peoples." Asked if he was more optimistic now than he was at previous talks, he said that "depends on several factors" which he did not want to go into yesterday. The Montego Bay talks are in an ideal vacation setting. The Half Moon resort is a 400-acre property with 419 rooms. It has suites, cottages and villas on a mile of white sand beach. Its meeting facilities are part of a complex of six restaurants, a shopping arcade and a championship golf course. The stage for President Jagdeo and President Wijdenbosch to meet with Patterson present was set in similar conditions in Canouan, a much smaller island than the venue for this latest round of talks. In the run-up to Montego Bay, CGX has maintained hope its rig will be allowed back into the potentially oil-rich offshore site. CGX President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Kerry Sully acknowledged earlier this week, "This is an incredibly tough issue; we can't overlook that". Both countries are looking at several proposals and Kelly told the Chronicle "there has been international precedence for resolution of these kinds of issues". One of the biggest was between Indonesia and Australia several years ago in which joint administration was agreed to for an area in dispute, he said. "There continues to be hope that there is a solution out there", he said. Mr Jagdeo last week said three proposals were on the table for interim arrangements: the status quo remains with Guyana maintaining licensing authority for the offshore area, joint licensing or separate licensing covering the same geographic area of dispute or overlap. Guyana has also proposed joint administration by a joint authority, with regional and international representation agreed to by both countries until the row on the maritime boundary is finally settled. Suriname alone giving the licence in the area was out of the question, he declared a week ago. Mr Jagdeo and Wijdenbosch are to discuss the rig return and other pressing related issues here. The Guyana President Friday said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the outcome here. CGX Monday served notice it will be sending out the rig from the Guyana-Suriname offshore region if the two countries do not reach agreement here by tomorrow.
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