Opinion
Song: A Call for Transparency in Guyana’s Petroleum Sector
Verse 1: In the land of Guyana, where the rivers flow freeBeneath the surface lies the oil, a treasure for you and meBut mysteries abound in the royalties we seeIt’s time to lift the veil, bring transparency Chorus: Oh, let the truth shine bright, like the morning sunIn the oil-rich fields, we’re the chosen onesFor…
Song: Slashing the guarantee, oh, what a disgrace
Verse 1: Slashing the guarantee, oh, what a disgraceExxon’s making moves, leaving us in a dark placeParent company’s smile, but it’s just a charadeFull coverage cut, our trust begins to fade Chorus: Oh, stand up, stand strong, don’t let them play their gameProtect our land, don’t let them shift the blameFrom the rivers to the…
Insurance and its adequacy (Part 3 final)
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 128 Introduction The two previous parts on this subject carried on Tuesday (21st.) and Wednesday (22nd) dealt with the first of two documents published in the Official Gazette a week earlier. These were the Guarantee and Indemnity Agreements by the oil companies with…
Insurance and its adequacy (Part 2)
Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 127 Introduction Yesterday’s column addressed three Guarantee and Indemnity Agreements (GIA) granted by the oil companies to the Environmental Protection Agency. These we are told are to provide some assurance to Guyana that there is money available to deal with any environmental events…
Insurance and its adequacy (Part 1)
The Official Gazette of 11 May 2023 published two documents – a Guarantee and Indemnity Agreement dated 9th June 2023 (GIA) and a Contract of Insurance effective 1st. February 2024. The first deals with the Environmental Obligations of the three Contractors – Exxon, Hess and CNOOC – and the second, with third party insurance taken…
GPL will be paying up to US$50m to Qatari contractor for power ship that will sail off in two years
Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. has contracted a floating electric power station (‘power ship’) from UCI, a subsidiary of UCC Holding, a Qatari company, to provide additional electricity to Guyana’s electric power grid, which has recently been failing in a spectacular manner resulting in multiple hours-long power blackouts for GPL customers. Regarding the costs…
Government should take over Hess’ share
The disagreement involving the three Contractors under the 2016 Agreement (Exxon Guyana, Mobil, Hess and CNOOC) and Chevron over the friendly takeover of Hess by Chevron has gone to arbitration in the United States. There is nothing to indicate that the Irfaan Ali Administration has expressed any interest in the matter before the Arbitrators, although…
Gov’t’s proposed oil spill legislation is a pathetic betrayal of Guyana, taking precedence over Justice Kissoon’s decision to the satisfaction of Exxon
In subservience to Exxon and realizing that they will lose the legal battle, the Government now plots its heralded scheme for an oil spill legislation to nullify Judge Kissoon’s decision decreeing that an Unlimited Parent Company Guarantee (referred herein as UPCG) must be provided to bear the full cost of any oil spill, above what…
No other current issue of greater import I can think of other than Jagdeo’s attack on the country’s judiciary and the troubling silence emanating since
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has made a searing attack on a ruling by a High Court judge in the Teachers’ strike case in which the underlying issue is free collective bargaining. Despite not having read the judgment, Mr. Jagdeo yet felt comfortable using words like ‘appalling’ and ‘presumptuous’. However couched, this has to be seen…
Guyana has the legal means to deal with law-breaking ExxonMobil Guyana Limited
Kaieteur News on 13 April reported, ‘ExxonMobil, EPA a no-show again at Natural Resources Parliamentary meeting’ (https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/04/13/exxonmobil-epa-a-no-show-again-at-natural-resources-parliamentary-meeting/). Through your pages, I call on our elected parliamentarians and staff of the National Assembly to use the legal procedures to require both ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) and the EPA to obey the law of the land. Standing…