Opinion
Oil companies have earned five times more from oil than Guyana
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 132 Modest investment, gargantuan returns Last week’s column completed the review of the published financial statements of the three companies which signed the 2016 Agreement for the Stabroek Block. Table 1 is a summary of the Income Statements (Profit and Loss Accounts) of…
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…
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…
Stabroek’s junior partner CNOOC makes G$355.7 MN (US$1.7 billlion) on share capital of US$200,000. Yes, Two hundred thousand dollars
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 131 Today’s column features the financial statements of the Chinese-owned CNOOC which holds a 25% working interest in the Stabroek Block, as a “non-operating joint venture partner”. CNOOC, like its other two partners, is a branch of a company incorporated outside of Guyana…
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…
Indicators raised by Mr. Bhagwandin are irrelevant
I refer to Mr. Joel Bhagwandin’s letter in SN dated June 14, 2024 submitted in response to my letter dated June 12, 2024 on the shortage of royalty paid by EMGL. Mr. Bhagwandin claims, among other unrelated issues, that the shortage observed in royalty was associated with the following: ’(I) royalties …(being) deposited every quarter…
Anyone who places the sanctity of a hugely questionable and lopsided contract above sovereignty is no better than the fool who signed the contract in the first place
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 130 – June 14, 2024 Exxon’s incredible (and unique) return on Equity Introduction This week’s column features the financial statements of the Guyana branch of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, a 45% stakeholder, and the designated Operator, in the Stabroek Block. In what was a…
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…
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…
GPL, there are still people around who can understand electricity
GPL, there are still people around who can understand electricity I grew up in New Amsterdam in the 1950s, where there were hundreds of vultures, which we called carrion crows. Some used to come home to roost in coconut trees between where I lived and the then NA hospital. They also perched on electric power…