A most misleading article

Mar 23, 2018 Letters

Dear Editor,
I refer to KN March 22 at page 8. This is yet another example of a sensational story about Guyana’s embryonic oil and gas industry that is both misleading factually and decidedly unhelpful to the Guyanese state of mind.
The focus here is not on ExxonMobil and its partners, who will make available US$300,000 per annum for training programmes, but on British conglomerate Tullow Oil and Canadian firm Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas who have contracted to provide US$25,000 annually for a much smaller operational area.
Tullow Oil, according to the article, gives Ghana US$250,000 annually for training plus US$400,000 for technical support – a total sum of US$650,000.
This immediately raises a point about context residing between the lines of sensationalism. In the same vein, the article does not inform the reader that Ghana’s oil is of the far more easily accessible onshore variety and also does not provide any information about the size of the operational area allocated to Tullow Oil in that country.
Moreover, the reader is not reminded that whereas Ghana’s population today stands at 29.29 million with a density of 355 per sq ml and ranks Ghana as #49 in the world by population, Guyana has a population of 781,020 with a density of four per sq ml and is ranked #165 in the world by population. Those population statistics show, among other things, that Ghana is 37.5 times more populous than our country.
A simple mathematical calculation would reveal that since the total sum, not considered to be “paltry”, contracted to be received by Ghana for training-related purposes is US$650,000 then the relative minimum fair sum that Guyana ought to receive is US$17,333 rather than the US$25,000 we will receive. Several factors based on relative bargaining positions are relevant in the negotiations leading to the formulation of any contractual agreement. The negotiations towards the agreement of no two contracts will be exactly the same.
It is time for our people to be encouraged to focus on the challenges we will face post 2020. We will have to ensure that the oil money – several times more that we have ever imagined let alone actually have – will be in the immediate control of our politicians and various salaried officials who will have to be kept honest so that the wealth may accrue to the benefit of all Guyanese both present and yet unborn.
Now is not the time for sensational but misleading stories – like the previously hyped story about each Guyanese getting GY$37 per day from the 2% ExxonMobil royalty! Would GY$185 per day from 5% royalty have been welcomed as eminently fair?
Ronald Bostwick

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