Latest update April 29th, 2026 12:35 AM
Latest News
- Canadian firm developing Uranium project in Guyana
- Guyana oil drives CNOOC’s US$5.7B first quarter profit surge
- Exxon awards new rig contract to Noble at US$375,000 day rate
- Iran’s Guards seize wartime power, blunting Supreme Leader’s role
- ‘Don’t be used in Venezuela’s Essequibo push’ – Pres. Ali warns CARICOM
Oil prices, ExxonMobil and Guyana
Editorial…
Kaieteur News- The difference between ExxonMobil and Guyana is wide when oil prices are part of the conversation. ExxonMobil’s Chief Executive Officer, Darren Woods, could speak boldly and joyfully, “The past year provided the best look yet at the power of our transformed Company…our earnings were the third highest in the past decade, even as oil prices softened and chemical margins remained at bottom-of-cycle conditions.” He said that “even as oil prices softened”, the company still outperformed its competitors, and by a comfortable margin. Woods has every reason to feel good about how his company is doing, and where it is heading.
Mention that oil prices look like they are going to go down, Guyana braces itself for prolonged stress. It is another confirmation of the one-sided nature of the oil partnership that exists between ExxonMobil and Guyana. In a partnership that is about equals on paper, one benefits to such an extent that pressures on oil prices are shrugged off as if negligible, while the other is filled with anxiousness over the potential tightening that gathers around its economy. ExxonMobil has the deep cushions that allow it to navigate wisely and comfortably oil price slumps. What it has delivered for its shareholders in 2024, it believes that it is well-positioned to do again, or close to it, in the future. High profit levels and rich dividend payouts, which many are of the view gain their strength from Guyana’s high-quality, cheap oil. There is also that monster that haunts Guyana, which is the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). The sharing element in that incredibly lopsided ExxonMobil PSA is largely captured by one side only, the offshore oil consortium.
The leading spokespeople of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods and Alistair Routledge, would have the world believe that the 2016 PSA was built on fairness and is executed on a platform of fairness. In the present environment of fairness marketed so smoothly by ExxonMobil’s principal speakers, there is the contradiction of one side to the half and half partnership boasting of “the power of our transformed company” while Guyana’s leaders are cautioning citizens that some belt-tightening could be in store. ExxonMobil is talking, more like boasting, of where it stands, despite shifts in oil prices. At the same time, Guyana is already tensing from what looks all but imminent.
Falling oil prices change all the calculations, influence the contributions to Guyana’s coffers. The imposition of draconian tariffs in a seemingly haphazard manner has reintroduced more of the seesaw in oil prices that the world knows all too well, and dreads. ExxonMobil has been through such price storms before, so it knows how to batten down its hatches, and manage the heaving tides. Guyana, on the other hand, is relatively new to the oil business, and has benefited in its small way (PSA cheapness) from an oil market of mostly healthy prices. Oil price gyrations and extended declines are still to be experienced by this country, which has left it not as prepared as it should be. Oil prices take a deep dive, and remain at lower levels for a lengthy period, could signify intensifying woes for Guyana. Stock markets around the word are taking a beating, companies are losing value and profits are sure to be crimped. Reciprocal tariffs could dampen demand for various products, which leads to layoffs, which reduces overall spending. All of this influences demand for oil, its prices, and where it goes from there.
Right here, poor policies, profligate borrowing and spending, and the Government of Guyana refusal to move on the 2016 PSA for improvements to its terms and conditions leave this new arrival to the oil-producing club perched precariously. Government leaders have changed their happy tunes, and urge Guyanese to brace themselves for changing circumstances. ExxonMobil’s leaders are still bright with optimism, count every dollar, and fight for it. Here, there are the leaders in the PPP/C Government that refuse to take a stand and fight for Guyanese, so committed they are to upholding what they themselves once vilified. Less money coming into the nation’s Oil Fund, debt servicing, and cost-of-living squeezing, all indicate that Guyanese are in for rougher times. ExxonMobil could boast, while Guyana prepares to roast.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
