When the Cost of a Barrel of Oil is US$40.00 or less, Guyana Oil Revenue Must Increase

Thanks are extended to Mr. Phillip Rietema, Vice President and Business Services Manager of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), who made two important statements about the performance of the Oil company in Guyana. In the first statement published in Kaieteur News (https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/07/02/exxons-guyana-operations-secure-with-us40-per-barrel-breakeven-point-phillip-rietema-vice-president-of-emgl/), it is reported that Mr. Rietema said that oil prices, ‘…went (down) from US$100…

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Bhagwandin should tell readers what happens with the gold at the factory floor in the interior

I have taken note of Mr. Joel Bhagwandin’s letter titled, “[Prof] Hunte’s so-called “broken institutions” have little or nothing to do with declining gold production”, and respond as follows: Can Mr Bhagwandin give a short description of the Custom Dept’s check of the operation? A gold processing plant is located on the company’s concession in…

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Bhagwandin misleads when he suggests that the NRF Report has disaggregated data for the EMGL, HESS and CNOOC

I refer to Mr. Joel Bhagwandin’s letter dated 6-17, 2024 in which he claims the information I requested is in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Report. Not surprisingly, Mr. Bhagwandin’s answer is the usual ‘red herring’, in which he is once again attempting to divert attention away from the real issues I raised in my…

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Institutions in charge of gold are clearly broken

One of the most valuable non-renewable resources that Guyana has, apart from oil, is gold. The price for an ounce of gold on the World Market (June 16, 2024) is US$2,348.40 (https://www.google.com/search?q=price+of+gold&rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS1113US1113&oq=price+of+g&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCggAEAAYsQMYgAQyCggAEAAYsQMYgAQyCggBEAAYsQMYgAQyBggCEEUYOTINCAMQABiSAxiABBiKBTIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDINCAYQABixAxjJAxiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQA);  and therefore, one pound of gold is US$37,574.40, as compared with a pound of sugar at US 19.35 cents and rice at US 18.15…

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Royalty discrepancy in EMGL Annual Report

Reference is made to the ExxonMobil Guyana Limited Annual Report 2023 (https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/locations/guyana/annual-report). In that report (Page 36), it is recorded that royalty paid is G$21,922,725,604.00, representing 2 percent of total revenue of G$1,108,897, 727, 566.00 (Table1). However, the royalty paid is not 2 percent of total revenue; instead, it is only 1.977%. The correct royalty…

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Public investment in brackish water shrimpers versus coastal artisanal fishers

Since few government officials respond to questions that are raised in the Press, we must thank Tejnarine Geer, Aquaculture consultant, for information on the brackish water shrimp project in Region 6 (https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/06/07/opinion/letters/brackish-water-shrimp-project-has-proven-to-be-tremendous-success/). Through your newspaper, I ask Mr Geer some follow-up questions: In 2021, Minister Mustapha informed that ‘$58M [was] being injected to up Region Six…

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