Undersecretary Helsberg on Guyana – ExxonMobil partnership

May 20, 2026 Editorial, News

Editorial

(Kaieteur News) – U.S. Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helsberg took a different tack from resident U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, on the issue of renegotiation of ExxonMobil’s 2016 oil contract with Guyana. Though he avoided responding to the issue directly and frankly, Guyanese heard the same thing, only in tighter, almost godly terms.

When Helberg spoke, it was the equivalent of God commenting on the renegotiation issue. Since it is so neatly knit, and the two partners are marching together so perfectly, it would be a shame to interfere with that healthy state. He did not have to say that such a move would be ‘dangerous’, as Ambassador Theriot did. But his words left no room for misunderstanding, or the initiating of any maneuver that would upset the peace of the U.S., prompt it to frown.

In the fairytale world in which Undersecretary Helsberg lives, the ExxonMobil-Guyana is so pure and true, that it should not be touched. “All I can say is I didn’t see any daylight between President Ali’s vision and the vision that was presented to me by the country president of Exxon. It seemed like their visions are completely synergistic.”

In less lofty terms, the bond that exists between the host country’s president, Irfaan Ali, and the investment consortium’s leader, Alistair Routledge, is so intimate, so mutually rewarding, that there can be no better marriage. Though Helsberg did not say it, we interpret his words to mean that there can be no better marriage, so do not tamper with perfection. The other side of that position, the one that the Undersecretary was adroit enough to steer skillfully around, was that since he “didn’t see any daylight” between the two leaders, it is too close for comfort for Guyanese.

And that it leaves this rich country at a disadvantage. And that when Guyana’s Ali and ExxonMobil’s Routledge are wrapped in such a tight dance, then there is only one loser. The people to whom that massive oil wealth belongs. It is a partnership of unequal strengths, and when “daylight” cannot penetrate between the two, then the weaker leader and partner gets suffocated.

We think that it is better, it is healthy, to have an arm’s length relationship, because that fosters watchfulness from both partners. When they are so close, they are too much in love with each other. Like any difficult domestic arrangement, there is reluctance to take issue with what the stronger one is doing, no matter how devastating that is to the interests of the weaker. It was noted American jurist, Justice Louis Brandeis, who is reported to have said that “sunlight is the best of disinfectants.” It would be helpful to know what Undersecretary Helberg has to say about that.

When there isn’t any daylight, then the bright sunlight, the sharp glare, that the 2016 ExxonMobil contract should get is not there. The ExxonMobil contract is not subject to the stringent disinfectant that it needs, if only to purge it of all its germs.

But there is another way of looking at what Guyana’s high-ranking U.S. visitor said relative to the contract and relationship. It does not make either President Ali or Guyana’s PPP/C Government look well. When Helsberg “didn’t see any daylight” in the ExxonMobil-Guyana relationship, he didn’t see what Guyanese see. Guyana’s President Ali is hugging ExxonMobil’s President Routledge, as though his very existence depended on that hugging being done, that there is no sticking point. Such as expressing an interest in, or pushing for, renegotiation of the vile oil contract. It could be that the wise American diplomat sees that, but duty forbids him from saying it.

When there is no daylight there is no advancing for Guyana. We assert that when President Ali is so hopelessly and pitifully stuck to what profits ExxonMobil, then he is sticking it to citizens. Which president with a minimum of pride, one who is faithful to the call of national dignity and that of his hungry people, would even conceive of putting a partner before his people? Jacob Helsberg has made his rounds, propped up President Ali, and gave ExxonMobil a powerful boost. He leaves behind a very rich nation with some very unhappy people.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Editorial, ExxonMobil, Guyana Oil, Helsberg, oil contract

Latest News