There has been a farcical entrapment of the Government of Guyana into being liable for Pre-Contract Costs, costs that under normal conditions are wholly the responsibility of the Contractor Partners in the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement re: Exxon, Hess and Nexen. I ask Ms. Kimberly Brassington’s replacement, Ms. Deedra Moe, Senior Director, Public and Government…
Government should put all approvals for ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase-2 on hold until a complete review of the Liza Phase-1 project cost is done, former Government Adviser on Petroleum Dr Jan Mangal says. “I believe a real and substantive review still needs to be performed of the Liza Phase-1 project cost before approval of the production…
I have 13 questions for Business Minister Dominic Gaskin on Exxon’s Esso’s pre-contract costs 1.By the end of which year does the Minister expect to honour the US$4.4 Billion Pre-Contract Costs claim, referred to by the Public and Government Affairs Officer; Ms. Deedra Moe of Exxon’s Esso, in Stabroek News, dated September 9, 2018? 2….
It has been reported that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will review contract costs proposed by ExxonMobil for its work as a contractor to the Government in the Stabroek Block. If the Government intends to undertake a rigorous review of the contract costs, this is not the optimal route. Instead, the Government will be taking…
How could we have billions of barrels of oil in 2018 and not be able to pay our teachers a living wage? The value of having the requisite quality of well-paid and motivated teachers of the highest calibre will reverberate across this nation in positive ways that will lift Guyana out of its morass. Let…
Former presidential advisor Jan Mangal has warned that while cash payouts from oil revenue may have an important role to play in the future, at this point it could be a distraction from the larger goal of clawing back wealth. His reference in a Facebook post today to clawing back of wealth will be seen…
If our division was not race it would probably be religion or class or the hue of skin within a race or some other quotient. We humans have a propensity to create/embrace unnecessary barriers that hinder our progress. Money is such an attraction to our senses; we tend to see it as a cure-all, thus…
On Friday August 17th, the Stabroek News published a letter by Business Minister Gaskin titled, `Mr Hinds completely omitted the profit sharing component of the Esso deal’. The Minister’s math does not compute. His cost per barrel is significantly more than what both Hess and the IMF have stated. I will work backwards from the…
Here is an idea that should be given top priority. Guyana needs to build up an entrepreneurial class. Guyana needs to develop a class of Guyana’s Product Brands. (Currently Guyana has only one such brand -15-year-old rum. Europe and North America cannot get enough of Guyana’s rum). Guyana needs a dozen new export products not…
I hope the Green Paper on the proposed Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) is a work in progress. The paper outlines a fiscal rule for withdrawals and the passive investment strategies for the foreign assets that will make up the Natural Resource Fund (NRF). It is quite intuitive why a NRF is necessary. It’s like a…
