Peru – take warning Guyana

Feb 20, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – It cannot be accurately said that Peru is right next door, as it is a little up the road from us. But what is happening in Peru should resonate with all Guyanese, who care about this country and its prospects, their present and future as well as those same two concerns for their own children. The same goes for their fellow citizens, all of them, regardless of differences and divisions, because when one Guyanese in any single area of Guyana is negatively impacted, then so is all of Guyana, and every single one of its citizens. The oil spill in Peru and that country’s woes with its resident foreign oil company should ring the loudest bell with Guyanese, represent the most frightening and timely warning we could have.
Peru is running into early problems in its moment of seriously damaging oil trouble (“Oil companies not fulfilling obligations after oil spill in Peru -Peruvian Govt say” -KN February 15). Guyanese could not have asked for a better warning, a stronger example of what happens, what to expect if an oil spill were to occur in one of the wells or boats operating around our offshore oil fields. Peru experienced its oil spill. A serious problem that now takes on the appearance of a crisis, hopefully not a catastrophe in the making. In that country’s moment of troubles and likely heavy damages, it has no oil company friend and partner anymore. Only a company that has quickly turned out to be an enemy, and a warrior determined to fight it tooth and nail every step of the way to not make good for its devastating failure; this oil spill.
It is the long, dark, and dirty history of oil companies, their now settled and proven ways of doing business. How they conduct their operations. The manner in which their sleazy leaders manage themselves and the money they make (grab and steal) from poor, but now suddenly oil rich countries. These are usually underdeveloped, ill equipped and dependent Third World countries, just like Guyana. The exploiters are foreigners, the leadership predators the same under the skin and smooth talk. Their first and only interest is their bottom-line; profitability which means the wellbeing and happiness of their shareholders. The leaders of foreign oil companies, without fail, don’t ever give a damn about the people of those places from where they produce abundant oil, and build their company’s runaway prosperity.
Think of this Guyanese. To fulfill obligations means that oil companies operating in whichever country they find themselves must fork out money. When they must pay over possibly billions (or hundreds of millions, at least), that equates to less for their income statement, less for their leaders, less for their investors. It should be clear as to which group (country) is going to be the loser in this game of endless corporate banditry and wanton cruelty. In this latest instance, it is the people of Peru.
In the oil spill case of Peru, it is Repsol, the Spanish oil giant that is balking, putting up a wall of sturdy resistance, the steeliest. When the Government and people of Peru are in dire straits from the oil spill that visited, and they are in dire need of a helping hand, they get both their heads and faces slapped and slammed down. An oil friend has transformed into a blood foe. Fellow citizens, please listen, please pay the closest attention, as this could be the fate that awaits Guyana. When money is involved, oil companies have no friends. Guyanese must get that into their heads, it must register deeply, powerfully.
It does not matter if the oil company is from Spain (Repsol), the United Kingdom (BP), or the United States (ExxonMobil) as is the reality in Guyana. They are all the same, and on this we are absolute. We don’t have full insurance coverage in the event of an oil spill of any magnitude. We have some hope. In fact, we don’t even have that. We are waiting in the hope of an “acknowledgement” according to Guyana’s great Vice President. Several months later, we are still waiting and hoping. We can’t be this dumb, irresponsible and uncaring.

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