How much for Guyana’s Country Head?

Apr 20, 2024 Editorial

Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil’s CEO, Darren Woods, is doing cartwheels: 5.4% and 10% salary increases for 2023 and 2024 respectively. CFO Katryn Mikells is in heaven: she hit the jackpot with a mind-blowing 150% pay raise in 2023 and a relatively puny 11% in 2024.SVP Neil Chapman cashed in with 15.1 in 2023 and 9% for 2024. The Brahmins in Texas had their drawdowns and have every reason to celebrate their good fortune in which Guyana’s oil made a significant contribution. What did Guyanese get for their oil wealth ownership? What did ExxonMobil’s Guyana Country Head, Mr. Alistair Routledge get as his reward for steering the heavy and ungainly local ship?

By any standard of reasoning, fair financial compensating for his donkey’s work on behalf of ExxonMobil, Routledge had to come in for his own sweet piece of the Guyana pie. He has Guyanese under the tightest control, save for a few rebels without a cause. Most importantly, ExxonMobil’s man on the ground, Routledge, has Guyana’s leading politicians going around in circles, talking from all sides of their mouths, and looking to him to see if they can speak and how they should configure their words. There is control, then there is total control, and the latter is where Country Head Routledge has from the president to the vice president to the pundits of the PPPC Government to the Opposition. There is only a small circle of exceptions that has eluded Routledge’s controlling presence, not eating out of his hand, and speaking freely no matter how much it unravels him.

Again, we put the question on the table: by how much did Mr. Routledge’s compensation jump in 2023 and 2024? He had to have been rewarded for all his tireless work in Guyana, so what were his percentage increases in 2023 and 2024? Guyanese have every right to know because they are paying him. His pay is part of oil expenses deducted, for if there is no Alistair Routledge, there is none of the same quality of oil operations and tricky oil communications. To proceed from this in reverse order, take that same tricky oil communications. We urge Guyanese to recall those farces that ExxonMobil putout under the banner of public consultations on upcoming projects. Somebody in the company did some deep thinking to dream up what have been out and out shams. Those public consultations had to have considerable input and hands-on guidance from Mr. Routledge. Now look at the state of ignorance and fear in which they leave Guyanese. From Mr. Routledge’s perspective, his efforts in the communication field alone should be good for a gorgeous and voluptuous 20-25% salary increase in 2023 and 2024. He has not given away one extra word away, been a most loyal soldier for ExxonMobil, and created a variety of corporate tricks to get the better of Guyanese.

The secret life of expenses is one, the capture of government leaders is another, and the rigid line held against any whisper about renegotiation of the 2016 ExxonMobil-Guyana oil contract all recognize Mr. Routledge’s prowess. Whatever the others (Woods, Mikells, Chapman) got, Routledge had to have gotten more for the fine job he is doing here. Given that Guyana’s oil pays for his raises, it is all for the better. He is the man in the trenches and facing the Guyanese firing line, which can be too close for comfort at times. He is always making some speech about how much Guyanese are getting from ExxonMobil for their oil. There is only one hole, one contradiction: where is the richness that is supposedly flowing into Guyanese hands?

Guyanese have heard about maximization of revenues, and massive revenues in the future, and cash flow revenues. They all have a good sound to them, so where are all these sweet pieces? Why are most in the Guyanese population scraping the bottom of the barrel to get by from one day to the next? There is no doubt that everyone that has some portion of Guyana’s oil business is on top of the world with more profits and more pay. While all this is happening, there has been one consistent loser, one laggard left far behind: the Guyanese people.

Darren Woods, Editorial, ExxonMobil's CEO, Guyanese, Routledge

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How much for Guyana’s Country Head?

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