Qatar anxious for Guyana to send envoy

Aug 02, 2019 News

Qatar, one of the most affluent countries in the world, is currently at a loss as to why Guyana is yet to appoint an ambassador to its capital region, Doha.

The Guyana and Qatar flags

Qatar’s anxiety in this regard, was raised recently by the Middle East North Africa Financial Network, Inc. (MENAFN) which happens to be one of the leading providers of online and wireless financial content.
It was noted by the online agency that the late Dr. Odeen Ishmael was Guyana’s last ambassador to Qatar in 2016. It was further noted that there were expectations that Professor Shamir A. Ally who has been appointed Guyana’s second resident ambassador to Kuwait since 2016, would have been appointed to the neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Qatar it appears, has taken note of the fact that Guyana’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Dr. Hamley Case, has been accredited to Latvia, Estonia, the Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Iceland and UNESCO. It was further observed by Qatar that Guyana’s ambassador to India, David Pollard, has been accredited to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.
Even Halim Majeed, Guyana’s ambassador to Cuba, was accredited to El Salvador as well.
Further, Qatar notes that Guyana’s ambassador to Brazil, George Talbot, has been accredited to Argentina and Chile and many other Guyanese diplomats in Washington, Pretoria, Brussels and Paramaribo have been accredited to other countries.
In light of the aforementioned, questions were raised about Guyana’s delay in appointing an ambassador to Qatar.
OIL INTERESTS
Earlier this week, it was reported in the international media that Qatar has serious interests in Guyana’s oil as its State-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) Company bought 40 percent of the interest that French Oil Major, Total, has in the Orinduik Block which is situated in Guyana’s offshore waters.
But at his latest press conference, Energy Department Head, Dr. Mark Bynoe said that this is not a done deal.
Dr. Bynoe had said, “We have received a transaction letter from Total which the government is currently studying but until such time, we (need to) understand the full implications, because this is not a normal farm-in that we would have seen. And we are not about to pronounce thereon.”
The Energy Department Head added, “What we are finding is QP is seeking to buy into the Total Guyana agreement but we can’t go further because it is early, we are in discussions with the co-ventures so we can have greater clarity.”
In addition to getting a piece of the action in the Orinduik Block, www.offshoreenergytoday.com reported yesterday that Qatar Petroleum also wants 40% of Total’s existing 25% participating interest in the neighbouring Kanuku Block. Repsol is the operator of the Kanuku Block with a 37.5% stake, with Tullow Oil holding the remaining 37.5% interest.
Just last week, Qatar Petroleum signed agreements with Eni and Total to acquire a 25 percent stake in three blocks in the frontier areas offshore Kenya.
The company has in the past years acquired rights in the acreage offshore South Africa, Mexico, Morocco, Cyprus, Mozambique, and Oman as well, with partners being Eni, Total, and ExxonMobil.