Let's applaud local oil and gas companies

Let’s applaud local oil and gas companies

Jun 18, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

It is disheartening to read every day the bad press on two local companies that are trying to establish themselves in Guyana’s oil and gas sector – Cataleya Energy Ltd and Mid Atlantic Oil and Gas.
Criticising with the benefit of hindsight is easy, but it’s worth recalling two factors prior to 2015: at the time they began negotiations for these blocks not a drop of oil had ever been discovered offshore Guyana, and Exxon was a long way off from drilling.
Aside from the geological risk, it is also worth remembering the political uncertainty then, including the interception of the Anadarko vessel and the vigorous diplomatic protests by a then far more powerful Venezuela against Exxon’s first rig, the Deepwater Champion, back in early 2015.
Even though Exxon has subsequently had tremendous success, deep sea oil exploration remains a very expensive hit-and-miss business, with an average 30% success rate. So there is no guarantee whatsoever that these two companies will strike oil even as they use their own personal funds and raise capital for the drill programmes.
The irony is that while everyone likes to talk about local content and local jobs, here are two local businesses that are being attacked. Instead they should be applauded for their entrepreneurship.
Yours sincerely
Albert Russell

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