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Unbothered! ExxonMobil shrugs off Guyana’s US-dollar shortage
– says already helped Guyana earn US$8B
(Kaieteur News) – Although Guyana is now producing over 700,000 barrels of oil daily, the country is grappling with a shortage of US-currency, causing major setbacks, especially affecting the business community.
US-currency is key to transacting business on the international market. Countries earn foreign currency mostly from the export of its resources. With a Gross domestic Product (GDP) tripling in recent years and an economy rated the ‘fastest growing in the world’ local banks have been unable to supply the demand for the currency, resulting in losses for businesses.
As Guyana’s 50/50 partner in development of the Stabroek Block, Kaieteur News recently asked ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) whether it would be willing to return a small portion of its earnings from Guyana to the country to assist in the situation, in the spirit of genuine partnership.
The oil giant however made it clear in its response that it was unbothered by the shortage Guyanese are suffering from. Instead, the company pointed to the billions Guyana has since earned as a result of its operations.
It explained, “ExxonMobil Guyana makes substantial contributions to the Guyanese economy. Our investments in Guyana will likely exceed USD 60 billion and have already led to the government receiving US$8 billion of combined profit oil and royalties since production began in 2019.”
Currently Exxon takes 75% of Guyana’s oil monthly to cover it expenses with developing the resources in the Stabroek Block. The remaining 25% is split with Guyana, meaning the country receives 12.5% of profits. It also receives a quarterly 2% royalty, meaning the country’s total share is a meagre 14.5%.
Earlier this year it was reported that government injected US$100M into the banking system to address foreign currency shortages. The announcement by the Finance Ministry came a week after Central Bank injected another US$35M.
The constant “unavailability of U.S currency” in Guyana has been a bug bear especially for local businesses that import perishables. They complained of losing millions. Despite the injections by Bank of Guyana, they complained that sourcing U.S dollars to pay for goods remained a huge problem for local importers.
Meanwhile, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo said the shortage in the country is temporary and that the demand for foreign currency will drop once the major government projects are completed.
He told journalists that the investments the government has made will not go on forever, since they are not recurrent in nature. He said there will be a significant reduction in demand for major capital projects, and while there will be new ones, they will not significantly affect foreign currency
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Sir. Ronald Sanders
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Problem is exchange rates. Wire money or send it via Money Gram, Revit or other. The exchange rate sending is average 205:1 Turn right around and wire money out of aGeorgetown bank the next day, banks charge 214 to 216 :1.
Now returning monies to U.S. can take up to a week, where when monies was sent to Guyana, only took 30 minutes or less. Cambio’s at street business charging to buy U.S.D. 218 to 220 and if you go to a cash house or on the streets to buy USD$ the exchange rate is 230:1
WHY FUND A COUNTRY THAT MONIES CAN NOT BE RECEIVED BACK? EXTORSION AT ITS BEST.
Now do the math on a global scale and ask ExxonMobil why they don’t park monies in Guyana. Trillions of Dollars reasons.
Money exchange in Guyana is a Racket!