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One –year-old company got contract to monetise Guyana’s gas not only on experience but proposal – Jagdeo Sep 07, 2024 News Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo Kaieteur News – The one-year-old company headed by former Vice President of ExxonMobil Jesus Bronchalo was awarded a contract to monetize Guyana’s gas but evaluators not only considered the company’s experience, but the nature of its proposal. This was explained by Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday during a press conference at Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown. The Chief Policymaker for the oil and gas sector was asked by this newspaper whether he still stands by the company since new information has come to light regarding the expertise of the other bidders. To this end, Jagdeo said that following the invitation for bids, a technical evaluation team was set up. Subsequently, the VP noted that the bids were evaluated and ranked accordingly; this document was shared with Cabinet by the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat. Jagdeo was keen to note that evaluators did not consider individuals, but the proposals submitted. In fact, he was adamant that politicians were unaware of the affiliation between Fulcrum LNG and Bronchalo, the former Vice President of ExxonMobil Guyana. “I asked him (Bharrat) did you know that Jesus was part of the bid and he said no and personally I did not know too until after the award was made and I saw him at one of the meetings,” Jagdeo asserted. On the other hand, he informed that the evaluators were aware of Bronchalo’s connection with the company. Be that as it may, he made it clear that the evaluation team not only assessed the bids on experience of the companies but the specifics of the proposal. “They were aware of this but they evaluated not just experience, it’s the proposal…you evaluate a proposal, you ask for a proposal, what are the elements of this proposal? You don’t know, you just latch on to one thing- experience,” he argued. The former Head of State also reasoned that the experience of a company is not only defined by its age but “it’s the experience that they bring in the proposal.” Jagdeo said global energy companies such as Solaris, ERM, Schlumberger and others were associated with the bid which brings collective experience to the proposal. He therefore noted, “Do they have the requisite experience to develop a project of this nature and the answer in this case is yes, because of these companies, not because of the Jesus guy but the proposal. Two, can they raise the financing for a project of this nature and thirdly, what is the nature of their compliance with the bid document? Have you checked any of these things with the evaluators or the Ministry?” It was reported that five months after tendering his resignation at ExxonMobil as Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for the Guyana operations, Bronchalo launched Fulcrum LNG in July 2023. In June 2024 it was announced that the company was contracted by government to design, finance, construct, and operate the required gas infrastructure to provide gas monetization solutions and accelerate upstream gas developments in the country. Research conducted by this publication revealed that Bronchalo is not only CEO of Fulcrum LNG, but he also wears several other professional caps at the business. According to company records, seen by this publication, Bronchalo is also Secretary, Treasurer, Director, and President of the company. From all indications, he has only hired one employee. Kaieteur News discovered that Ivor Ellul has been hired as Technical Director at Fulcrum LNG. The limited experience of the company has raised serious questions about its capacity to fulfill its contracted obligations. Bronchalo’s company was selected as “the most responsive compliant bidder” among 16 others who tendered to develop the non-associated gas in the Stabroek Block, operated by Exxon. A deeper dive into the company’s records also led Kaieteur News to the business address of Fulcrum LNG. The energy company operates from what appears to be a two-story guest house located at 937 TAHOE Boulevard, Incline Village, Nevada, USA. Fulcrum LNG, according to company records, operates from Suite 130B. Related Similar Articles

OMAI aims for higher annual production, extending mine life at Guyana gold project Sep 07, 2024 News Omai’s operation in Guyana (Omai Gold Mines photo) By Renay Sambach Kaieteur News – Canadian mining company, Omai Gold Mines Corporation, is advancing its expansion plans for its gold project in Guyana, with newly released drill results showing potential to increase gold production and extend the life of the Wenot mining pit. Earlier this year, Omai unveiled an enhanced Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its gold project located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) Guyana. The company holds a 100% interest in the gold project, which encompasses two gold deposits: the shear-hosted Wenot Deposit and the adjacent intrusive-hosted Gilt Creek Deposit. In an update on Friday, Elaine Ellingham, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Omai expressed optimism about the company’s future in Guyana. She said, “We are very pleased with these first results from our 2024 drill program and have doubled the size of the program to 10,000 meters.  Following completion of our Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Wenot open pit deposit in April, and a C$13m financing in June we prepared plans to drill several high potential areas on the Omai property that we believe will move us towards our goal of significantly expanding the mine plan, for Omai beyond our baseline PEA, with higher annual production, a longer mine life and enhanced economics.” The results from the company’s first PEA for the Wenot Project revealed that the project is slated to yield over 142,000 ounces of gold annually over a 13-year mine life. At its peak, production is anticipated to soar to 184,000 ounces in a single year, with a total estimated production of 1,840,000 ounces of payable gold. Notably, Ellingham said in the recent statement that the current PEA only incorporates 45% of the property’s MRE, leaving substantial room for growth. “Much of our planned program is also targeting an expansion to our already substantial gold resources,” she added. Omai’s planned drill program for 2024-25 will test several areas, including extensions to Wenot to the east and west.  Additional targets on the Omai property will also be drilled as some are near surface and high grade that could bolster the grade profile in the early years of a production scenario. Moreover, the company disclosed that relative to the other deposits in Guyana, the Wenot MRE of 834,000 indicated ounces of gold grading 1.48 g/t Au and 1,614,000 inferred ounces of gold grading 1.99 g/t Au is quite shallow, with 81% of the 1.9 million ounces within the PEA pit lying above a 330m depth. “The very limited drilling below the 350m level presents significant potential to expand the Wenot deposit to depth along the full 2.5 km strike length,” it was stated. Notably, drilling at Omai is expected to continue until early December at which time the company expects to commence work towards an updated MRE. Moreover, the most recent NI 43-101 MRE for the Omai property, dated May 21, 2024, includes the Wenot resource of 834,000 indicated ounces of gold grading 1.48 g/t Au and 1,614,000 inferred ounces of gold grading 1.99 g/t Au. For the adjacent Gilt Creek deposit, the NI 43-101 MRE is 1,151,000 indicated ounces of gold grading 3.22 g/t Au and 665,000 inferred ounces of gold grading 3.35 g/t Au. In 2020, Omai re-entered Guyana’s mining industry. The company had said that their work completed thus far, has put them on track to become the next large-scale gold mine to open in Guyana. Recently, the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC) announced that it has granted Omai, a new Prospecting Licence providing the exclusive right of occupation and exploration for gold, base metals, precious metals and precious stones. Notably, the licence has an initial three-year term until April 29, 2027 that can be extended to 2029. This licence gives Omai the exclusive rights to apply for a Mining License and the company has commenced meetings with government officials that have provided guidance on the process. Related Similar Articles

Prisoner escapes while attending clinic at GPHC Sep 07, 2024 News Kaieteur News – An inmate of the Lusignan Prison escaped on Friday morning while attending clinic at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The escapee, Isiah Daniels also known as Isiah Greaves escaped at approximately 11:30h. The Guyana Prison Service (GPS) in a notice said that Greaves last known address is 485 ‘A’ Field Sophia, Georgetown. Persons with information about Greaves’ whereabouts are being asked to contact the nearest police station or the Officer-in-Charge of the Alisia’s Prison on telephone number 604-7305. Related Similar Articles

ExxonMobil extends contract for four drill rigs costing Guyana around US$2M daily   Sep 07, 2024 News One of the Noble Drill Ships working for Exxon offshore Guyana Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) has extended its contract with American offshore drilling company Noble Corporation for four of its drill ships to work in the Stabroek Block. According to Noble, ExxonMobil has awarded 4.8 additional rig years of backlog under the Commercial Enabling Agreement (CEA) which has been assigned evenly across the four drill ships: Noble Tom Madden, Noble Sam Croft, Noble Don Taylor and Noble Bob Douglas, extending each rig’s contract duration from June 2027 to August 2028. In May 2023, Noble announced that ExxonMobil Guyana had extended their contract for the rental of the four ultra-deep-water drill ships to work in Guyana until second quarter of 2027. Notably, Noble had explained that market-based day rates are reset twice per year (March 1, and September 1) to the projected market rate at that time. This publication had previously reported that Exxon is utilising six drill ships for its Stabroek Block project – four vessels from A Noble and two from Stena Drilling. Earlier this year, Liam Mallon, ExxonMobil Upstream President disclosed that EMGL is operating six drill rigs in the Stabroek Block daily costing an average of  US$420,000 (GYD$84 million)  to US$500,000 (GYD$100M) per day for each ship, based on current market-rate. It was during his address at the opening of the 2024 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo when Mallon made the disclosure. “Meanwhile, we talked a lot about the source of the revenue, six drilling rigs and their crews are at work every single day 24/7 throughout the block, drilling and exploring, preparing yellowtail and Uaru for startup tirelessly developing the existing resource base and seeking to find even new discoveries,” Mallon told the conference. Moreover, a 2023 report by Wood Mackenzie, a global research and consultancy group, had shown that rig utilisation returned to pre-COVID levels, driving rates up. Wood Mackenzie had reported that by the end of 2023 rates were expected to be at US$500,000/day or above for highly-prized, advantaged ultra-deep-water rigs. EMGL is producing a daily average of 645,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and have plans to hit a target of 1.2 million bdp by 2027. Since 2015 the company has made over 30 discoveries from its drilling campaign in the Stabroek Block which is estimated to hold 11.6 billion barrels recoverable oil. It should be noted that for every day that the drill ships work, Guyana will have to foot the bill. Owing to the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), Guyana signed with Exxon – all of the company’s expense will be recovered. Under the deal, Exxon receives profits after 75 percent is withdrawn to cover operational expenses. Related Similar Articles

Govt. to roll out digital techniques to address low Maths passes at CSEC Sep 07, 2024 News President Irfaan Ali Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana (GoG) intends to implement the use of technology in the education sector to address the country’s declining Mathematics pass rates at Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level, President Irfaan Ali announced on Thursday. The President was at the time speaking at the commissioning ceremony for the Yarrowkabra Secondary School. At the event, the Head-of-State spoke of government’s plan to invest in digitilisation techniques in the education sector aimed at targeting improved results. “…We also have to look at how opportunities, how we use new technology, environment and the best methods through which we can have improvement in Mathematics,” the President said while adding that  “…There are some important tools that we can utilize instantaneously and that is why we are investing, we are investing in digitization of education, the digitization of our textbooks, the  digitization of our teaching material, the digitization of our learning material, the digitization of our delivery.” Kaieteur News reported that this year’s CSEC results saw a 3 percent dip, moving from 34 percent in 2023 to 31 percent this year. President Ali said that Mathematics requires more analytical thinking, and a problem-solving approach which may cause students to shy away from the subject. He said that an important platform in digitization is e-learning and online education. The Government is currently examining three proposals that deal with online education. “… 24 hours every day we can place our schools, our students in a classroom scenario in an education scenario, in a learning environment, getting the best resource that we have nationally, putting those resources in a digital format and delivering online education,” Ali said. The President noted that technology will be used to close the learning gap emphasizing that the Ministry of Education will “…Infuse it into a national programme and disseminate it across the learning platform…” He said, “We want to bridge this learning gap.” Meanwhile, at the beginning of the new school term this month, the Ministry of Education in an effort to tackle the decline in the country’s Mathematics performance at the regional examination announced that all secondary schools and secondary departments in the primary schools must have more periods allotted for the subject which will now be taught during the morning hours. According to a circular sent out by the Chief Education Officer, Saddam Hussain, the schools were required to implement 16 guidelines before September 6, 2024 in order to improve the mathematics performances among students. The CEO in the document stated that the “Ministry of Education has observed several undesirable practices in the teaching of mathematics across secondary schools. Specifically, our monitoring mechanisms revealed that CSEC mathematics performance has been affected negatively by these practices.” According to the circular, (1) Mathematics must be taught in all classes of all grades, for a minimum of 240 minutes per week. Schools can choose to have more periods allocated to mathematics and the school’s curriculum schedule must be immediately adjusted to reflect this change. (2) Schools which have recorded an exceptionally high CSEC pass rate for mathematics in the last two (2) years (2023 and 2024) can apply to the Assistant Chief Education Officer (Secondary), through the established channel, for a reduction or exemption to guideline #1. Importantly, (3) all mathematics periods must be timetabled in the AM sessions (morning sessions), and (4) all mathematics periods must be timetabled in double periods, except if an exemption request is made by the school’s Head of Department for mathematics to the school’s Senior Leadership for approval. The ministry further implemented that (5) Grades 10 and 11 mathematics teachers must meet weekly to plan lessons, identify resources, design evaluation instruments, evaluate past lessons, plan remediation strategies and all other related curriculum activities. Also (6) problem-solving practice must be allocated a minimum of two (2) periods per week for all classes. “The solving of CSEC past-paper questions must commence at Grade 7. In using CSEC-type questions, consideration must be given to the topic and level of difficulty. It is recommended that problem-solving questions completed during these periods should be recorded in a separate exercise book to facilitate marking,” the ministry implemented. Additionally, the mathematics jargon must be explicitly taught as used in past CSEC papers and found in the CSEC syllabus (A glossary of terms). (8) As far as possible, schools should aim to finish the CSEC syllabus by the end of the Christmas term in Grade 11. The CEO listed in the document also that the Easter Term in Grade 11 should be used for the solution of CSEC-type questions (papers 1 and 2) and general review. It was stated that (9) Regional Mathematics Subject Committees must be resuscitated to facilitate monthly meetings, whether virtually or in-person and the main purpose of these meetings must be to explore different methodologies in teaching mathematical content. External help should be sought from NCERD, CPCE, UG, among other agencies. (10) In conducting their designated supervisory activities, head teachers and deputy head teachers must prioritize mathematics classes across grades. The document stated (11) the mathematics SBA must begin no later than the second week of the August term of Grade 10 and it can commence earlier if a school so chooses. (12) Schools must establish a committee to review a sample of mathematics SBAs, while (13) evaluation strategies, similar to the mathematics SBA, must be used in different grades for students to develop an appreciation for the application of mathematics. Further, (14) a remediation strategy must be immediately implemented for Grade 11 mathematics and Education Officers are instructed to observe and report on the implementation of the remediation strategy in all schools under their supervision, the ministry outlined. “(15) Schools are aware that certain ‘non-mathematical’ factors affect students’ performance in mathematics such as attendance and punctuality. The school’s senior leadership team is required to identify these factors and implement systems to mitigate their influence. (16) A recommendation will be made for disciplinary action to be taken against all supervisors (at the levels of the school and Department of Education) if students are not taught, though timetabled, or if the syllabus is deliberately not completed,” the CEO informed. It was reported that the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) this year recorded an overall decline in the mathematics past rate across the Caribbean, with it dropping significantly from 43% in 2023 to 36%, which saw most candidates achieving grade three in the subject. Related Similar Articles

Man, 65, survives vicious bee attack Sep 07, 2024 News Kaieteur News – A 65-year-old man on Thursday morning survived a vicious attack by a swarm of bees after he was reportedly cleaning a drain in the vicinity of Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara (WCD). The man, who requested anonymity, told Kaieteur News during an interview that the incident occurred at about 09:00hrs while he was cleaning drains in the area. “Me was working …cleaning drain, so me go to a place where me clean the drain and the bees come out just like that, and storm on me,” the 65-year-old man recalled. He said that for about 20 minutes, he endured the stings by the swarm of bees, as he pulled his black jersey to cover his ears, and nose. Fortunately, a public-spirited citizen placed a cloth and waved a stick over the 65-year-old man to get to remove the bees. After the bees departed, the man was taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital where he was treated and sent away. The man told Kaieteur News that he is still in lots of pain and feels “very weak”. Related Similar Articles

Ex-boyfriend found in woman’s trunk after breaching Protection Order, jailed Sep 07, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News Kaieteur News – A 29-year-old man on Friday was sentenced to two months in jail for breaching a Protection Order by hiding in his ex-girlfriend’s car trunk, threatening her with a knife, and chasing her. sentenced two months in jail; Rawl Simon Rawl Simon of Red Road, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) appeared before Magistrate Annette Singh at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court where the charge was read to him. The charge against Simon stated that on September 5, 2024, at Lot 21 Regent and Oronoque Streets, he violated a Protection Order made in favour of Donessa McCalmont and was issued on June 14 at the Diamond Magistrates’ Court. Simon pleaded not guilty to the charge. According to police statements presented in court, Simon went to his ex-girlfriends’ workplace where he hid himself in the woman’s’ car trunk. Moments later, McCalmont went to her car and opened her trunk where she saw Simon with a knife in his hand. He threatened her with the said knife. At that moment McCalmont became fearful and fled from her car but Simon chased after her. She told the court that she ran into a nearby house for refuge. The woman subsequently reported the incident, leading to Simon’s arrest and charge. The prosecutor noted that Simon was given an order to keep 500ft away from McCalmont. However, Simon’s action clearly breached the order. During the court proceedings, Simon, who was unrepresented by a lawyer, requested leniency, claiming, “She’s [McCalmont] trying to victimize me… I saw her cheating on me last week.” McCalmont clarified that they were not in a relationship at the time. Magistrate Singh considered the seriousness of the offence decided to sentence him to two months in prison. Related Similar Articles