Opinion
The Dragon’s tale: Why T&T got the last dance
The editor created these infographics for understanding, but Anthony Paul has not validated them. They may lack technical precision, but they remain a useful resource for general readers. On Friday, the US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the issuance of two general licences that allow Shell and BP to proceed with…
Government Signs Secret Deal Extending 2016–2057 Agreement
Every man, woman and child must become oil-minded Part 176On 27th October 2017, a gentleman who I had never met asked, through a third party, to see me. It was unusual but I thought why not. After exchanging brief pleasantries, he disclosed that the 2016 Petroleum Agreement signed by the APNU-led Coalition included a signature…
How can Guyana receive a fair share of revenue from its oil?
The 2016 Stabroek PSA allows the operator, ExxonMobil Guyana Ltd. (EMGL) to deduct massive expenses against current production—including costs from unsuccessful exploration elsewhere (due to lack of ring-fencing). Because the contract permits up to 75% of oil produced, on a monthly basis, to be used to pay off these Recoverable Contract Costs, we show below…
Force majeure, shareholder messaging and a history of accommodation (Part II)
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 175 Today’s column concludes a two-part piece arising from comments made by ExxonMobil’s Chief Executive Officer during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. When Darren Woods spoke of force majeure “pausing the clock,” he was addressing shareholders and the wider investment community, not the…
The Gov’t must clarify Guyana’s position on ExxonMobil’s CEO Woods’ comment about ‘force majeure’
In Guyanese Creolese, the word ‘basiddey’ means ‘being in a state of mental disorientation or confusion, dazed, dumbfounded’. The oil giant ExxonMobil certainly seems to have acquired expertise in sowing a state of ‘basiddey’ in successive governments in Guyana. Relinquishing areas Last year, in early July 2025, the government announced that ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL)…
Why is the full report of the 2022 national census so important?
By Janette Bulkan and John Palmer The information sheet for the US national census and household survey in 2020 states briefly the objectives: ‘The Census provides us with data on the National, State, and Local levels that help define who we are as a nation and the makeup of the people that live in this country. Data…
Force majeure is not a pause button (Part I)
On 31 January 2026, carried a story that exposes how surreptitiously Exxon seeks to draw every drop of blood – sorry, oil – from Guyana. The report once again brings the issue of force majeure sharply into focus. Force majeure is a contractual mechanism intended to grant additional time where performance has been genuinely and…
Guyana’s public finances need fiscal equivalent of Ozempic
Introduction Out of what is widely acknowledged as a blatant violation of international law, the entry of United States forces into Venezuela has produced one piece of good news for Guyana. Whatever the legal controversy surrounding that intervention, its practical effect has been to neutralise Venezuela’s capacity to pursue its fanciful claim to the entire…
It’s oil, stupid
Deportees, Trump and the price of oil The Government of Guyana has announced that it has agreed to accept foreign deportees from the United States – persons who are not Guyanese nationals. The announcement was made calmly, almost casually – by one of the “family” – as if it were a routine domestic arrangement. There…