The Four-to-One Formula: How Guyana’s 50-50 Oil Deal Turns into a Mathematical Impossibility

Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 161 Last year, my summary column discussing the 2023 audited financial reports of Stabroek Block contractors had the caption “Oil companies have earned five times more from oil than Guyana. Modest investment, gargantuan returns.” If anything has changed, the money deluge has continued…

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Most disturbingly, the government refuses to disclose who issues tax certificates to the oil companies

The presidency is the most sacred office in our Republic – its occupant sworn to uphold the Constitution and to serve all the people without fear or favour. Under President Ali, that office has been diminished – through evasion, manipulation, and a style of governance that rewards loyalty over merit, secrecy over transparency, and partisanship…

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Exxon’s 2024 Financial Statements

Every Man, Woman and Child Must Become Oil-Minded Part 159 1. Overview Earlier this week ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) summoned the Guyana press to the launch of its 2024 Annual Report. Two conditions: only questions on the financial statements would be entertained and the number of questions strictly restricted. Like one of its junior partners…

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I strongly support Ms Janki’s appeal to withhold assent to oil spill prevention bill

I strongly support Attorney-at-Law Melinda Janki’s appeal to President Irfaan Ali, as reported in yesterday’s Stabroek News, not to give presidential assent to the rushed Oil Pollution Prevention, Pre-paredness, Response and Responsibility Bill. Ms. Janki, who regularly provides high-value public service to Guyana, provided a strong case on why the legislation contravenes Guyana’s international legal…

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Stratospheric returns for Hess

Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 157 Introduction Amid concerns about unresolved audit issues, mysterious tax certificates and controversial oil spill legislation, Hess Exploration Limited, a branch of a Hess subsidiary incorporated in the Cayman Islands, is the first of the Stabroek Block partners to lodge audited financial statements….

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LANDMARK COURT ACTION CHALLENGES 14-YEAR FAILURE OF TRANSPARENCY REGIME: First Enforcement Case Under Access to Information Act – Commissioner Accused of Systematic Obstruction

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – May 16, 2025 – In an unprecedented legal challenge, Attorney-at-law Christopher Ram today filed Guyana’s first judicial review action under the Access to Information Act 2011, directly confronting Commissioner Charles R. Ramson Sr.’s systematic refusal to enforce the nation’s transparency laws. The High Court case represents the first attempt to compel compliance…

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Undoing Sandil Kissoon – Part 2

Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 156 As feared, the Government ignored calls to refer the Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Responsibility Bill to a Select Committee and advanced it to a second reading and passage. Listening to the exchange in the National Assembly yesterday, it was entertaining…

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