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Exxon’s 52% billboard misleading – Jagdeo finally admits
Kaieteur News – “Exxon’s billboards are misleading,” those were the words of Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo when he addressed members of the media on Thursday at Freedom House.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
Jagdeo was addressing matters related to the oil and gas sector when he said: “One thing I can agree with Vincent Adams on, is that these billboards that Exxon (is) putting up all around the place, is misleading in many ways… Exxon’s billboards are misleading. So they said Guyana receives 52% of all profits from Stabroek Block, 50% profit share plus 2%, they don’t speak about the 75% here going to cost recovery.”
The VP said that this ‘touting’ by the oil company makes, “people think it’s now. In the future we will get a significant amount. (The billboard also states) more than $280B for Guyana since 2019. So these billboards can be misleading.”
The VP vented that when persons look at the billboards they would believe that Exxon runs the county. “You believe they run the country when you look at these billboards. Very misleading sometimes, so I can agree with that.”
During an Alliance For Change (AFC) press conference last Friday, former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams explained that contrary to the explanation provided by Jagdeo recently in defense of Exxon’s misleading billboards, Guyana will never benefit from 52% of the monthly revenues, even after the oil company’s investments have been recovered. The chief policymaker for the petroleum sector during his February 22, 2024 media engagement, told reporters that Guyana will enjoy 52% of the total proceeds from oil production, after the costs have been repaid.
VP Jagdeo pointed out that presently, 75% of the earnings are deducted to cover cost, with the remaining 25% shared with Guyana. He said however, “When those costs are amortized fully, then we get 50% of the total proceeds, all the profits. So say 100% now goes to profit oil, all the revenue goes to profit oil because you finish amortizing the investments, paying back for the investments, so now 100% of your revenue is available for distribution, not 25%.”
He said this means Guyana will receive 50% with an additional 2% royalty, taking the country’s share to 52% while Exxon would receive 48%. To this end, Dr. Adams said, “We watched and listened with dismay, the second VP’s press conference of February 22, 2024, and thought our ears must be failing us with the disbelief of what was being spouted by this self-anointed oil guru from whom the people are expecting truthful information about our god given patrimony.”
The former EPA boss contends that there have been several letters penned by learned professionals explaining Exxon’s billboard hoax of the 52% oil revenues being received by Guyana, which the VP must have seen. “The VP embarrassingly went on to expose the toxic mixture of his dutifulness to Exxon and the limitations of his honorary degree, when he once again prattled on with his selling of Exxon’s farcical billboard touting that Guyana is getting 52% of the oil revenues. Let us read and spell for the VP that it is impossible for Guyana to ever get 52% of the revenues, without the impossibility of zero cost for production operations,” Dr. Adams argued.
One of Exxon’s billboard that claims Guyana receives 52% profit share from the oil rich Stabroek Block
He pointed out however that the VP completely failed to inform the nation that even after costs associated with the Stabroek Block projects have been repaid, Guyana’s oil will still be deducted for operational expenses. Presently, the operational cost is an unknown factor, but at an estimated 30%, Dr. Adams said profit oil will then be 70%. This means that Guyana’s share will be 37% – half of the 70% plus the 2% royalty.
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