First Oil!

Dec 22, 2019 Features / Columnists, News, The Story within the Story

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By Leonard Gildarie

We can dare to dream big now. We can dare to hope that all Guyana can band together for a common cause. We can dare to become another Singapore with the Dubai infrastructure.
As a people who have known struggles, we would be selfish to argue that we should not benefit big time from the oil bonanza.
Production has started with the big news announced Friday. It was expected; it is momentous.
It is simply one of the largest finds on the planet, and the people have to cash in.
We seem to be on a winning streak with the Stabroek Block. Mirroring that is the attempt of Suriname to find oil in its offshore blocks. It has failed.
Recently, we heard right next door to the Stabroek Block, where the production is currently ongoing, the oil quality discovered in a drilled location is not so good for Tullow, another explorer.
We have a remarkable streak and we have to be thankful. It has the real potential to dramatically transform this country. In fact, on Friday evening, the Department of Public Information (DPI) disclosed that per capita we have more oil than a few of the world’s big producers.
Qatar = 900 barrels of offshore reserves per person; Saudi Arabia = 1,900 barrels per person; Norway = 2,200 barrels per person; United Arab Emirates = 2,900 barrels per person.
Guess what?…Guyana has 3,900 barrels per person.
Those are fantastic figures if we can get the benefits to filter across to all sectors and to the people that matter the most…the vulnerable.
I have read that some view Guyana as possibly the richest country in the world with the find.
I will wait to see more before I can pronounce.
We have to be watchful, thrifty, wise, and be ready to capitalise on the opportunities that come.
We are in demand of leaders who are proactive, not corrupt, and strong in demanding much more for us.
Can we do it alone? No one party has the answers to oil. For a number of months now, I have been asking our politicians about working together, establishing a common front for oil.
UNITED
It is so true: united we stand, divided we fall. We only have to look around us, to the oil-producing countries and be ready to learn from the mistakes. There are plenty of them. We read of court matters involving ex-ministers and even the arrest of an Attorney General in Africa for corruption, this past week. He had fled to Dubai but was arrested and sent back to his country.
The carpetbaggers are here. The speculators are coming.
The US Embassy in Guyana has made it clear…the embassy will not get involved in the affairs of the oil industry. The striking of the deals will have to come from the private sector.
Current ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch made the disclosures shortly after she came here to begin her duties.
The embassy of course will work to protect the interests of ExxonMobil and the US.
I have argued before and will repeat: there is a perfect opportunity for the US and ExxonMobil, one of the world’s biggest oil companies, to use Guyana as a poster nation.
We have much to offer and we need the help.
I kid you not when I say the Trinis are begging to come. They are here by the droves.
Yesterday was December 21st. The announcements on Friday would strike sharply with the fact that yesterday marked one year since December 21st.
One year ago, our world was turned upside down when a single vote of no confidence in the National Assembly sparked a battle that deeply divided this country. It cast a dark shadow on Christmas 2018. For months, citizens watched aghast as battle after battle was fought.
From the floors of the National Assembly, involving the Speaker of the House, to the High Court, then the Court of Appeal and finally the Caribbean Court of Justice.
We watched as the battle for a chair for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) played itself out. From one judge, who was forced to retire a second time, to another retired judge – this time a woman – to replace him, the wrestling then focused on the voters’ list.
Amid it all, our country was barreling along the road to first oil.
The timing of oil production could not be sweeter for the Coalition than now.
The no confidence vote had forced four ministers with dual citizenship to resign, a major blow.
First oil before March 2nd would always be a major game changer. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is here. We have cross the threshold from hoping one day, to actually seeing it.
In five years, by 2025, from 120,000 barrels per day, ExxonMobil wants to ramp production up to 750,000. That puts Guyana in the top countries in terms of production.
The zone of peace that President David Granger has spoken about is as sweet as the light crude when it comes to the bargaining table. We are taking much to the negotiating table. We can demand more.
As we produce the oil, everything will come to naught if we miss the big picture…we have to make money and receive a share that is equitable and fair. ExxonMobil and its two partners are our contractors and we are the client. An understanding of that concept will put things in perspective.
A COUNTRY DIVIDED
I listened to President David Granger on first oil…it is a work in progress, he admits.
Our country is divided. Our country, sad to say, votes along race lines.
We enter Christmas this week, bracing ourselves for what is to be a dirty fight leading up to March 2nd.
We need the holidays to forget the politics, if only for a day or two. Our people have been battered…from years of slavery, then colonialism. We would be stupid to forget those years.
We have to be thankful for where we are.
The real work to ensure we receive what is ours is beginning in earnest.
As we celebrate Christmas, let us quietly reflect on how much power we have as a people.
We have to understand that the days when the tail wagged the dog are slowly going away.
We will enjoy the holidays and pat ourselves on the back and vow to open our mouths, in unison, and to tell our leaders to stay woke.
As the new year approaches, we can hope and those who believe in divine intervention, can pray, that our leaders see the wisdom of putting this country first. Season’s Greetings to you all.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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