Introduction This is the case for renegotiation of the Petroleum Agreements between the Government of Guyana and ExxonMobil (“Guyana-Exxon agreements”). In my article dated 8 December 2017[1], I wrote extensively on the nature and types of stability clauses and their pros and cons. Most notably, what the Model Petroleum Contract describes as a Stability Clause…
“If they don’t do a good job, they could end up blessing something that is actually bad. They may say ‘yes we checked. There is no evidence so we are not doing anything.’ So what you have…is a government entity that has allowed the oil companies to defraud the country…” – Dr. Mangal Even though…
It is almost impossible to open a paper these days without reading about “first oil”. There is talk of the ‘Dutch disease’ and a sovereign wealth trust fund. The World Bank is lending Guyana US$20M to write some laws and improve governance for the petroleum sector. The government glibly assures the population that oil will…
The current modus operandi in the incoming Guyanese oil industry will affect how the poor and the working class respond to it. Today across Guyana, this oil industry is seen as an elite project. It is seen by the population as those guys in suits who jets off to Houston to strike deal for themselves; it is…
Renegotiate, rescind, reimburse, then auction off so that Guyana reaps the maximum value from its oil blocks, is the advice that petroleum expert Dr Jan Mangal drilled into those who attended his presentation at the Guyana Petro-leum Summit in Houston, Texas on Thursday. He also warned that if the contentious Exxon-Mobil deal is preserved as…
Exxon the American oil giant recently reported their 13th oil discovery in Guyana’s Stabroek block. The confirmed barrels of oil in the Stabroek block is 5.5 billion barrels. UK’s Tullow estimates that the Orinduik block holds 4 billion barrels of oil. There are more blocks like Canje and Kaieteur yet to be explored. Even if no more…
