Government should ensure Exxon contract has provisions to allow Guyanese to develop expertise in the oil business

Many new graduates searching for a job lack the experience they need to get their dream job. They have spent years studying and have good grades. However, without the relevant industry experience, many employers are not willing to take the risk on them, especially for highly technical positions. Usually it takes 10 years to develop…

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Exxon has engaged in dodgy accounting going all the way back to Shell transaction

Exxon has engaged in dodgy accounting going all the way back to Shell transaction

Maya Angelou, American literary giant and civil rights activist once said, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time”. Unfortunately, when Esso showed us who they were from the first decade of this century, we not only did not believe them, but successive governments spinelessly conspired with them to deprive current…

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Could Guyana escape the natural resource curse? Part 6: Oil and other sectors

The previous column explored how the lack of economic research capacity might have contributed to the lopsided contract in favour of ExxonMobil. One misconception that is often expressed in various Guyanese quarters is observers like yours truly never worked in the oil industry, therefore, we do not know about negotiating a PSA-type oil contract. Indeed,…

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Is Exxon implying that its engineering skills permits its deep-water oil extraction at speeds in excess of the safe working limits?

OGGN – Oil and Gas Governance Network (www.oggn.org/about) – does not agree with the letter ‘Exxon disappointed with KN headline’ in KN, October 22, 2024.  Vice President Phil Rietema of EMGL wrote ‘… our ability to optimize all aspects of our Guyana operations to drive greater efficiencies and ensure we continue to deliver projects on time and…

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Chris Ram's Articles

Critical Examination of the Ali Administration’s Oversight in the Oil and Gas Sector: Evaluating Broken Commitments and Vice President Jagdeo’s Limitations

Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 122 – March 1, 2024 Introduction The Ali Administration has been promising continually that an independent, competent Petroleum Commission will be appointed to oversee the operations of the oil and gas sector. But like it has done in relation to the confirmation of…

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