Profit over Protection—The High-Stakes Gamble in the Stabroek Block

Dec 30, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

The recent revelations by Dr. Vincent Adams regarding the systematic breaching of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) limits are not merely a technical dispute; they are a warning of a looming national and regional catastrophe. When the “safe operating limit” of a vessel like the Liza Destiny is treated as a suggestion rather than a legal boundary, the government of Guyana is effectively allowing ExxonMobil to write its own laws.

The Jargon of Deception

Terms like “debottlenecking” and “optimisation” are being used to mask a simple, dangerous reality: we are running high-pressure machinery at nearly 40% above its engineered safety envelope. In any other high-risk industry—aviation or nuclear power—this would result in an immediate grounding of operations. Why is the oil sector different?

The Erosion of Liability

Perhaps most disturbing is the government’s active role in shielding the operator from liability. By appealing the High Court’s ruling for an unlimited parent company guarantee, the administration has placed the financial burden of a potential multi-billion-dollar spill squarely on the shoulders of the Guyanese taxpayer. This is the definition of neo-colonial exploitation: the multinational takes the profit, while the sovereign state assumes the risk.

A Challenge to the EPA

The EPA’s role is to be the “watchdog,” not the “lapdog.” If the EPA continues to allow production increases without revised EIAs and public scrutiny, it ceases to be a regulatory body and becomes a PR arm for the oil industry.

We call for an immediate stay on all production levels exceeding the original EIA limits until a transparent, independent technical review is conducted and the 2022 Census data is integrated into a real-time disaster management plan. We cannot afford to wait for a “beautiful Christmas” that might be turned black by an oil spill we were too greedy to prevent.

Sincerely,
Hemdutt Kumar

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Hemdutt Kumar, Letters, profit, Protection, Stabroek Block

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