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A seat at the table

Jan 25, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – “Guyana should have a seat at the table in all future oil contracts -Former Suriname Oil Boss” (KN January 11). We have not heard wiser words being said in a long time, and it follows that we agree wholeheartedly. Or, to use the words of one of Guyana’s world class oil leaders, it is a ‘no brainer.’ There is nothing that makes more sense than that, and in many ways.
Let us start from the beginning. Those same leaders who disagree with us so furiously because of our continuous oil coverage, most of which expose their shortcomings, have said that we have a long way to go to obtain required technical skills and appreciation for what goes into the skillful management of an oil sector, which includes oil block auctions. This is particularly relevant to Guyana, which is starting out with its oil from a hole due to the crippling disadvantages of the stranglehold that ExxonMobil has over us.
Nonetheless, what Mr. Rudolf Elias, the former head of Staatsolie, the Suriname National Oil Company, recommends is compulsory learning. He is saying that we must be at the table in the deliberations and as part of all the developments involved in the oil blocks being put out to auction for the experience. Guyana’s Vice President himself has said that we have a steep learning curve in many areas of the oil business. It is a business with many deep intricacies, which the oil majors and subsidiary players in the world arena are well versed in, and which they never hesitate to utilise to the fullest to get the best deal for themselves.
Our process must be transparent (a curse word locally), we must understand the associated costs, and other related factors when we work fearlessly to get the most out of those blocks put up for bidding. We would urge the PPP/C Government to engage Mr. Elias to be a consultant at our elbow and whispering in our ear. We need that kind of veteran, expert guidance (been there, done that experience), since we don’t have anyone of equivalent prowess. He has had 30 years of top-notch experience in the oil sector, and would be a powerful asset on our behalf in these auctions.
The Vice President has said that we need technical help and make some decisions on investing to get a better price. And another is whether to bar Exxon and others from being part of the bidding. We say let others come and show their cards; Exxon and those who already have a huge footprint here should be blocked from participating in the bidding for these blocks. They have gouged us enough with untold trickiness, which is why we say: give some others a chance to show what they bring to the table. People will have to want to take part in the auction, to do business here, we don’t have to beg anybody to come here.
It is of urgent necessity, therefore, that we have a place right there among the big boys to get a grasp of the mechanics, the players, the atmospherics, and all those other subtleties that go into conducting business, oil or any other kind, at what would be rarefied levels for Guyana. We must be willing to face our limitations, and admit that we know very little of how what we have in our hand operates in the global space. The hustles, the horse trading, the relationships, the way that the top dogs work the room and walk away with the top prizes before anyone has a clue about what has been sealed.
The sooner that we realise that oil is a cutthroat enterprise, the sooner we would appreciate what we have to do, in both self-education and the hands-on exposures that we must have, if we are not to be left holding an empty bag. This has already happened to us with a devious partner, and a devastating oil contract that drains the lifeblood out of us, and we have only barely begun to pump some of this wealth that is under the seabed.
Thus, we must be right there next to the action and participating fully. Get Mr. Rudolf Elias.

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