The disagreement involving the three Contractors under the 2016 Agreement (Exxon Guyana, Mobil, Hess and CNOOC) and Chevron over the friendly takeover of Hess by Chevron has gone to arbitration in the United States. There is nothing to indicate that the Irfaan Ali Administration has expressed any interest in the matter before the Arbitrators, although…
In response to his letter published in the Stabroek News on 1 November 2021, I invite Jonathan Yearwood to listen to what I said at the Hearing on Extractive Industries, Climate Justice and Human Rights in the Caribbean convened by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on 26 October 2021. In the recording he…
I have long considered Steve Coll’s book, “Private Empire ExxonMobil and American Power”, the bible on ExxonMobil. All government officials and ministers with responsibilities for the oil portfolio should take the time to do a serious study of this book. This book was published in 2012. Minister Trotman had renegotiated the Oil Contract in 2016…
Keeping information from the public only results in distrust and contracts for all of the country’s natural resources should be published, says Government’s Petroleum Advisor Jan Mangal. “The signing bonus and all revenues should be disclosed. There are no pros for non-disclosure, only cons,” Mangal told Stabroek News in response to questions posed on the…
The World Bank, Guyana’s development partner of many years, is being challenged to prove that Guyana’s gas-to-shore project will not fall to the same fate as Ghana’s project. The African nation’s Sankofa field gas project, endorsed and partly financed by the Bank, has trapped Ghana in a deal which forces it to pay hundreds of…
I went to the Leonora Technical Institute (LTI) on Friday February 3, 2023 for the presentation of EEPGL’s 6th Development (Whiptail) Project. The in-person scoping meeting was presented by Project Manager Anthony Jackson on behalf of ExxonMobil. He had also presented the 5th Project (Uaru) last year, having landed in Guyana only one day before…
On the weekend the government released an article stating that the Stabroek Oil Block is not up for renegotiation. It cited a number of reasons for its position including the sanctity of contract, the stability clause and because Exxon lost US$22 billion last year. The article reads like a marketing campaign for why Guyana should…
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 138 – September 28, 2024 After years of dithering and delays, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC-R) recently unveiled a 20-point plan – more a statement of intent – for managing Guyana’s fast-moving oil and gas sector. This plan, coming eight years after…
I noticed in today’s paper three full-page ads in newspapers, celebrating Caribbean Statistics Day under the theme, “Leave No One Behind…Everyone Counts.” There were messages by “Senior Minister of Finance” (no longer Minister within the Presidency?), the Chairman of the Bureau of Statistics Board, and the CARICOM Secretary General. The Senior Minister said, “Government recognizes…
