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PPP/C Government looking out for ExxonMobil

Jul 18, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Whenever the PPP/C Government has an opportunity to make a start in tightening the screws on ExxonMobil, its leaders waste those chances. For sure, leaders in the government, from President to Vice President to Minister of Natural Resources, come up with reassuring words and postures about how much they are on the job, on the lookout, and on the move to put a clamp on what the American oil supergiant is doing to this country. Yet, over and over again, developments that come to light evidence a continuing trend to look the other way, to make room for the company, and to facilitate the many costly wrongs that it has inflicted upon this nation.

A development from the World Bank supplies the latest proof of how this PPP/C Government fails. It shows how much its leaders drag their feet in doing what is meaningful, and which could benefit this country. Government leaders are so much in bed with ExxonMobil that they cannot find the energy to get out from under the covers to get going with what could manage better ExxonMobil in its offshore operations. All this is confirmed in the news article headlined, “World Bank slams Guyana over lax oversight of Exxon’s operation” (KN July 17). It was of a US$20 million (GY$4B) loan from the World Bank, but which was left to languish untouched since it was approved over two years ago. It was for building capacity so that Guyana could be better positioned to oversee some of what Exxon is engaged in, while we gain insights on how we could be hurt, and possibly make moves to correct whatever is against our interests.

The World Bank American millions, billions in Guyana dollars, was intended to cover such areas as staffing, recruiting experts, developing expertise, training, and similar such enhancements. Over two years later, the millions are still in cold storage, while the Natural Resources Minister now speaks of something ghostly creature called “refining.” Whatever that may mean, it is our hope that he doesn’t take another few years to complete his “refining exercise, for by then the flaring would have continued unchecked, and other risks multiply, while ExxonMobil makes more gold from our black gold, and we are none the wiser for it.

It was the Vice President of Oil himself, who bemoaned the lack of local expertise and capacity on more than one occasion. But here it is that US$20 million is held in suspense, with nothing doing, while ExxonMobil races ahead to capitalise on its good fortune, as we remain purposely asleep. It is baffling why the leaders of this country refuse to make it among their highest priorities to use available money to strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency (already disfigured beyond recognition), and help us improve in such key areas as reservoir engineering and geology. The latter areas of study could only improve the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Department of Energy, both of which could use the boost.

When we consider this, it is becoming clear that all the talk from PPP/C Government leaders (already identified above) as doing this and that is nothing but empty talk. Instead of equipping Guyanese to watchout for Guyana, it is as if these government leaders are looking for ways to create openings for ExxonMobil, and give the green light to the company to do as it pleases.

The downside of all this, aside from possible heavy financial leakages of which we are ignorant of, and risks that are multiplying, the World Bank is itself now inserting its formidable voice into the local oil industry. In its own words in an interim report, the World Bank’s rating of Guyana’s management of its oil has now moved from “Moderately Satisfactory” to “Moderately Unsatisfactory.”

When we should have been improving by leaps and bounds, we are going backwards, as in a negative, self-destructive direction. One wonders what spin Guyana’s talkative head of state, its oil wizard Vice President, and its largely defensive Natural Resources Minister would put on the World Bank’s “moderately unsatisfactory” rating of this country in its handling of this oil. “Moderately unsatisfactory” is alarmingly close to highly unsatisfactory, which we hope will somehow be avoided.

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