Latest update January 20th, 2025 4:00 AM
ExxonMobil effectively bans fishing in huge swathe of Guyana’s waters–Ram
Environmentalist, Annette Arjoon
Social commentator, Christopher Ram, still cannot come to grips with the fact that some locals and foreigners, like Oxford Professor, Paul Collier are expecting Guyanese to just be contented with the lopsided Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that Guyana has with ExxonMobil.
Ram, an attorney at law, continues to stress his opinion that ExxonMobil is taking way too much from Guyana and giving the country very little in return.
Ram has noted that because of ExxonMobil, Guyana will be losing hundreds of millions of dollars that would have been gained from the fishery sector. This is because the company has effectively banned fishing in a large area of Guyana’s waters.
Ram deems it a total absurdity that ExxonMobil is being able to operate in a manner that is not consistent with international standards while depriving Guyanese, such as the fisher folks, of a living.
“According to Sir Paul Collier, Guyanese are expected to accept that a foreign company comes and exploits our non-renewable resource, effectively bans all fishing in a huge swathe of the country’s maritime territory, gets full deduction for all the funds it makes available to exploit the resources, renders barren the environment, pretends to pay taxes in Guyana, cons its home country with a certificate that it has paid taxes in Guyana, and takes away more than Guyana keeps!
“And guess what: As Finance Minister Jordan gloated, this is after the area has been de-risked. In financial management, as the level or risk decreases, the investing company will apply a lower internal rate of return, with a lower level at which super profits are earned.”
Ram is not the only one concerned about the displacement of fisher folk and the environment. Environmentalist, Annette Arjoon-Martins had expressed deep concern about the preservation of the invaluable ecosystem services and sustainable livelihoods of the indigenous communities in and around the Shell Beach Protected Area.
Arjoon-Martins had said that her concerns are the consequence of the known risks associated with the emerging oil and gas industry.
Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram
She noted the present lack of environmental safeguards and weak and almost nonexistent environmental regulations and legislations specific to the emerging oil and gas industry. She said that while the focus is understandably on economic development that oil, a non-renewable resource can bring about once it is managed sensibly; she is saddened that Guyana’s eco-system services have largely been ignored.
Arjoon-Martins used the opportunity presented at a recent oil and gas forum held by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) to press home the need for more safety measures to be put in place.
She told a room filled with entrepreneurs that “while we all heard this morning about the hundreds of millions and billions of United States dollars that everyone is understandable greatly excited about, remember that oil and gas are not renewable resources.
“Also remember to touch back on the value of our eco system which is everlasting. If you are to put a value to our eco-system, I think it would far exceed those millions and billions we heard of earlier.”
The environmentalist had alluded in her presentation that in light of the devastating events that are linked to climate change and the reality that fossil fuels are a major contributor, that there should be some consideration for Guyana to be rewarded for keeping some of the oil in the ground.
Since under the LCDS the government of Norway had paid Guyana US$50M annually for keeping its deforestation rate at a minimal, it would not be unreasonable to expect that payments for oil should be much higher.
Ms. Arjoon-Martins told this newspaper that the movements of many supply vessels will have an impact on the large marine mammals that traverse the marine spaces.
Also, the release of high temperature water from the drilling system will affect the area it is being released into.
Further, Arjoon-Martins explained that each time an oil tanker comes to pick up oil, one million barrels of ballast water will be released into the Atlantic Ocean, which can potentially introduce invasive species which can affect the food chain in the ocean.
Arjoon-Martins noted too that the use of seismic affects the marine mammals that depend on echo location. “We do not know where they will be disposing the hazardous waste which is generated as yet, but wherever it ends up on land there are contamination possibilities so the EPA and other relevant agencies need to be vigilant.”
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