Global Witness has revealed that Guyana stands to lose at least US$55 billion from the current 7.9 billion barrels in the Stabroek Block. The major political parties have not indicated that they will renegotiate the atrocious Stabroek oil contract. But the Guyanese people have other choices. Leaders of both the Change Guyana party and the…
Please allow me to comment on your article in yesterday’s SN: `Guyana’s first million barrels of oil is closer – still no word on price.’ Once one peels away the legal mumbo jumbo and pretensions, the oil contract clearly says that profit oil is valued by the monthly average of the spot market price. You…
There are many tricks the salesman has studied to close a lucrative deal. These range from projecting a sense of authority; playing the reciprocation game; and creating a sense of urgency. In the negotiations with the oil companies, we have fallen prey to these social psychology tricks. We need to recognise these tricks to avoid…
The oil companies appear to be pressuring the government to approve the Payara project. Before we proceed with any more approvals, we should clarify mathematical anomalies between Liza Phase 1 and Liza Phase 2 that may save us billions of US dollars; verify the pre-contract costs; hire qualified people and create the institutions/regulations so we…
The humble fruit vendor selling at Bourda Market understands the difference between price and value. She grasps the value of her golden apples and sweet mangoes. She prices them at or above their fair value. She knows the prices of inferior produce and how far potential customers would have to travel to purchase her quality…
Where in the Stabroek petroleum agreement is it stated that the oil companies receive 98% of revenues per month?On Thursday November 7th, 2019, the press reported that the Exxon will take the first three liftings of oil. The press indicated each lifting is one million barrels. Assuming oil price per barrel of US$60, the total…
Exxon has an automatic ‘file sweep’ programme that has been deleting company records dated before August 2015. And, apparently, no backup exists for the deleted records. Did Exxon’s automatic ‘file sweep’ programme brush away the pre-contract records? Hence, what evidence will Exxon be submitting to prove its portion of the estimated US$900 million pre-contract costs?…
Exxon is accused of cooking the books. One set of accounting records for shareholders (investors) and another for its management. This may have cost Exxon’s shareholders up to US$1.6 billion in damages. That is the case brought by the New York Office of the Attorney General (NY OAG) and now on trial. Even more concerning…
Taxes are fundamental to developing the Western world’s prestigious institutions and first-class infrastructure. In Canada, heart attack surgery is free. In the US, for a few dollars, you can hop on to a NYC bullet train that rockets you down the tracks to Boston. These services wouldn’t be affordable without the taxes paid by major…
I have written over ten columns on the foreign exchange (FX) market since 2009. These essays are direct in the sense that they address explicitly the question of what is determining the exchange rate and the quantity traded in the local market. In 2017, I wrote a six-part series to address some of the issues…
