Our Leadership is blind on Exxon’s escalating costs

Feb 03, 2021 Front Page Comment, News

Kaieteur News – Our leaders have made many costly past mistakes with our oil. Instead of learning from those mistakes and working tirelessly to correct them, our leaders continue to walk this same wretched path.
The coalition leaders had approved a provision which said that Guyana would accept a measly 2% take for all of the oil to be produced in the Stabroek Block.
Several world-class experts advised them to increase this to 10 or 12 percent.
But the coalition ignored this advice. The PPP is doing same.
PPP leaders had the opportunity to wield a menacing sword over Exxon’s head and squeeze the company where it hurts when the company desperately needed approval for the Payara project, the third to be developed on the Stabroek Block. But it let the opportunity slip through its fingers. It refused to use other opportunities when granting permits and approving other projects, as bargaining chips for better contract terms for Guyanese. Our leaders had Exxon bent over their laps, and did absolutely nothing to benefit Guyanese handsomely.
The reverse occurred, with Exxon dropping the cash hammer on us, through increasing costs. Liza-1 started at US$3.5B, Liza-2 went to US$6B (70% more), and Payara expenses currently are estimated at US$9B (over 250% of Liza-1 expenses, and 50% of Liza-2). The oil companies are having a feast, while thinking of Guyanese as dumb and foolish.
As our leaders refuse to claw back value, do an independent review of our resources, provide the studies on the gas-to-shore project to be landed at Wales, leave key projects without comprehensive or full insurance, among other things, we are left vulnerable to massive scales of abuse. Our leaders need to stop being so blind, dumb and foolish. If they don’t act differently, all of Guyana will be doomed with out resources.

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