Opinion
There might be cause to file private criminal action to ensure oil accounts are audited
The revelation of the Government’s VP who oversees oil and gas that the almost $US9 billion Liza 1 and Liza 2 expenses have not been audited is tantamount to the Government aiding and abetting the fleecing of Guyana’s resources. The sin of omission of failure to do audits is as bad as the sin of…
At the Yellowtail EIA presentation held in Region 3
I attended the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) presentation of the Yellowtail Development Project held Monday Nov 1, 2021, at the Leonora Technical Institute (LTI). The presenters were very cordial and courteous in their presentations and answers to questions. The EIA itself was published in 3 volumes on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, and its…
Cabinet’s hydro project ‘no objection’ may be ill-advised
A reader might be misled by the Government’s current enthusiasm to start construction of this small dam (by global standards) in the remote Kuribrong River; SN 01 November ‘Cabinet gives China Railway ‘no objection’ for Amaila hydro project’. The Cabinet appears to have been persuaded by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo that the Norwegian advisers, Norconsult,…
Harmon’s call for a 50% royalty could change the political dynamics in Guyana
Mr. Harmon’s picture in a local paper wearing a t-shirt saying, “Demand 50% royalty,” seems to be clear support for the renegotiation of the oil and gas contract as any increase in the 2% paltry royalty we get now would require renegotiation. If Harmon stands solid, this changes the political dynamics in Guyana and spells…
Exxon must be made to carry full comprehensive insurance coverage
Dear Editor, I refer to your article, ‘Gov’t seeking up to US$2B insurance coverage from Exxon for Yellowtail project’, 04 November 2021. The Liza, Payara and Yellowtail oil wells are around 18,000 feet deep in the rocks and under 5-6,000 feet of Atlantic water. BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was…
Our regulatory agencies should carry out their mandates without any interference
In response to his letter published in the Stabroek News on 1 November 2021, I invite Jonathan Yearwood to listen to what I said at the Hearing on Extractive Industries, Climate Justice and Human Rights in the Caribbean convened by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on 26 October 2021. In the recording he…
The solar alternative for Guyana
Of all the energy possibilities, solar power is now the best for Guyana. It is the least expensive, will put power in the hands of the ordinary man, and is blindingly simple. Let us take each of these in turn. Generation If US$900M has to be found for the 165 MW Amaila Falls Hydropower Project,…
Guyana – Playing Russian Roulette With Every Additional Oil Project
Imagine that you were lucky to be awarded a house lot. You hire a contractor company to fence off your plot of land and you intend to use them to build your house. But on review of the bill for the fencing, the numbers don’t add up. You will be outraged and will seek to…
Guyana as dumpsite for petroleum wastes
Guyana is often mentioned for less than stellar reasons. There’s Jonestown (‘(s)he drank the Kool Aid’), rigged elections, the poorest country after Haiti in CARICOM and Latin America, the costliest failed infrastructural project in CARICOM (US$250M Skeldon sugar factory), and failed or captured regulatory agencies. Standouts among the latter was the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)…
Opportunity for Guyanese Diaspora to make their views known as Guyana undergoes first Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) validation which commenced on October 1
According to a notice on the Guyana EITI (GYEITI) website (www.gyeiti.org), Guyana is undergoing its first validation visit which started on October 1. The EITI based in Norway will give Guyana scores on 3 indicators: stakeholder engagement, transparency, and outcomes and impact, using the scale – not met, partly met, mostly met, fully met, and exceeded. This…