Time for Pres. Joe Biden, CARICOM to end Exxon's abuse of Guyana- US Commentator

Time for Pres. Joe Biden, CARICOM to end Exxon’s abuse of Guyana- US Commentator

Jan 07, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – Arguing that Guyana got a “sucker deal” when it signed the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with United States (U.S.) oil major ExxonMobil in 2016, that no nation should have ever made, an American commentator is lobbying for changes to be immediately effected to the contract.

Arthur Piccolo, a writer on Latin American issues in one of his latest writings published by News Americas puts the two former U.S. Presidents Barrack Obama and Donald Trump, respectively on blast insisting that they turned a “blind” eye to the abuse Guyana is facing.

U.S President, Joe Biden

Notably, President Obama was in his second term in office when the Exxon contract was signed. President Trump took office in 2017 and the current leader, Joe Biden was elected in 2021.

Piccolo said it is time for America’s present leader to force the U.S Company to renegotiate the deal with Guyana.

Just after highlighting how better off the country would have been with a fairer deal, the writer said, “It is also important because it exposes the United States government’s lack of concern for what takes place in the Caribbean whether in Guyana, Haiti or anywhere else in this region physically as close as any to our nation.”

According to him, “Let’s not forget the hidden players here who make all this possible – the United States government and the last two Presidents and the current President. They play the part of the blind mice. See no evil, hear no evil, do no evil. Proving yet again how the United States government continues to ignore the entire Caribbean which fosters this kind of abuse.”

Continuing in his passionate piece, Piccolo explained that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the body that unites Caribbean nations, will be celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. To this end, he said it is “Time for CARICOM to step up and end this kind of abuse of its member nations. It’s time for U.S. President (Joe) Biden & CARICOM to force Exxon to renegotiate this deal.”

Last year, President Biden slammed ExxonMobil, his country’s leading oil producer, for being reluctant to drill more oil fields so that it can benefit from skyrocketing prices for oil and gas as supply shrinks.

The American President out rightly stated that the posture of the company was reflective of sheer greed as it sits back and watches inflation rise in-country, much to the benefit of its shareholders’ pockets.

According to a CNBC report, inflation in May rose at levels not seen since the early 1980s. Asked by a reporter if his administration has plans to “go after” oil company profits, Biden did not say what course of action he would take. He did state however that, “Exxon made more money than God this year.”

Even as the profits for the oil company continue to soar, the multinational conglomerate is reluctant to give the country a better deal for its oil resource.

In the meantime, activists in Guyana have been lobbying for changes to be made to the 2016 PSA as Guyana receives a mere two percent royalty for its sweet light crude and settled for 50 percent profit sharing, after Exxon takes 75 percent of the earnings to clear its expenses.

The deal that the oil company often brags about to its shareholders, also forces Guyanese to pay their share of taxes, amounting to millions of US dollars each year. This figure is likely to further balloon as more operations come on stream.

In addition, the country is allowing ExxonMobil to operate offshore without Full Liability Coverage in the event of an oil spill, which means that the risk is borne by Guyana. Another key provision that is lacking in the document is ring fencing provision, which would avoid the oil company from using the petroleum revenue in one field to cover for expenses in another.