Everyone except Guyana is benefitting from our oil

Feb 16, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – Leaders of the Caribbean and Latin America attending the energy conference have plenty to say about how Guyana should spend its oil revenues. But none of them is willing to address the need to correct the lopsided contract which the APNU+AFC government signed.

There is no shortage of advice. One leader came and said that Guyana should invest in infrastructure and to improve its social safety nets. Another said that his country already has the capital infrastructure to help Guyana process its petroleum and natural gas; there is no need to reinvent the wheel. A third sounded a warning. He cautioned against us spending the money on things such as increasing our vehicle fleet which will add to congestion on our roads, and he urged that attention be paid to addressing the root causes of social ills.

But no one is telling Guyana as to how it can get a fair deal. Plenty of advice is pouring in on the best way to develop the country but little on how to ensure that Guyana gains more so that it can do more and do more quickly for its people. The PPP/C has long raised the white flag of surrender. It is now shamelessly making it quite clear that there will be no renegotiation of the Production Sharing Agreement relating to the Stabroek Block.

And even though it promised that it would ensure better terms in future agreements, it is now being reported that ring-fencing is not likely to be part of those terms. If this is indeed so, then the public will have to demand that those responsible resign since they are not acting in the interest of the public. The President has called for a coalition of like-minded countries to push for food security and climate action. But he seems to have forgotten that there is already such a coalition. He obviously missed that. In fact, there are many groupings which support the need for climate action and for greater food security.

But these issues, as important as they are, must not be allowed to cloud the substantive concern about the contract which into which Guyana entered. That contract has been described as the worst ever in the history of oil agreements. Too much also is being made about the need to alter the global discussion about the use of fossil fuels. No one pressured countries such as Guyana from moving towards renewables. It was Guyana which took the leap when it launched the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project, as a means to move towards renewable energy. It was Guyana which said that by 2040, 70% of its electricity demand would come from renewables. That was a voluntary commitment it made.

While all of this is happening, we are told that Guyana still needs concessional and climate financing. The fastest growing economy in the world for two years in a row still needs and expects concessional financing. It shows how little our financial gurus understand about international development financing. As long as Guyana reaches the threshold of a high-income country, it has to expect that concessional and climate financing will dry up. Guyana is no longer a poor country; its people may be poor but Guyana is not considered as a poor country any longer.

But is it not ironic that despite the vast wealth which the country can now boast about, it has to continue to borrow from the IADB and even from the World Bank? And at the rate at which the economy is overheating, we may end up once again in the laps of the IMF. All of this is reason enough for Guyana to press for a better deal from the oil companies. But instead, our leaders are now part of the chorus line of the oil companies. And while the President and others are saying that fossil fuels will be around for some time, the Vice President is at another wavelength. He is of a different opinion. He says that fossil fuels are being phased out and that Guyana only has a narrow window to exploit its oil reserves. This is why he wants as much drilling and pumping of oil and gas as fast as possible. So fast, in fact that the government he serves is now limiting the number of oil blocks which any one developer can have.

But has he committed to ensuring that no developer can flip an oil block. There are carpetbaggers who are going to rejoice at the news that any developer can only have three oil blocks. They will come here auction for those blocks and then flip it to others, walking away with a huge profit. It looks as if everyone is going to cash in on Guyana’s oil except the country itself which has to deal with governments who have sold out the people’s birthright.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• APNU+AFC Government, Guyana, Peeping Tom, petroleum, PPP/C

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