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Barbados enjoyed the fourth biggest move in the North, Central America, and the Caribbean (Concacaf) region, in terms of points added during the September...

Former finance minister questions legality of using oil money to pay ExxonMobil for pipeline Sep 20, 2024 News Kaieteur News – Former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan has raised questions regarding the legality of using oil money to fund the pipeline being constructed by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL). Former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan The pipeline is a component of the highly touted Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project, intended to reduce the cost of electricity by some 50% according to government. During a recent interview on Nation Watch streamed by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the former Member of Parliament (MP) said the pipeline could not be financed by future oil revenues. He explained, “…(in) the 2021 (Natural Resource Fund) Act, there is a Clause there that says the resource in the Natural Resource Fund could not be encumbered and you could not borrow against future earnings.” NRF Act states at Section 25 (1-3), “The financial assets of the Fund shall not be encumbered by any person or entity. The future petroleum revenues shall not be encumbered by any person or entity. The Government shall not- (a) borrow or lend money from the Fund…” Jordan however noted that in the absence of the agreement between the Government of Guyana (GoG) and Exxon, information related by politicians indicate that the pipeline will be funded through oil revenue. “It seems implicitly that the government has agreed with Exxon that they can take as part repayment from our share, our future share, monies, to repay for the loan that they gave to the pipeline,” the former MP stated. He explained that since Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo revealed that Exxon would not have advanced the money for the project had the company not seen it as a profitable venture, it could only be deduced that the pipeline is being funded through a loan. As such, Jordan argued that by law, no borrowing should take place against revenues to be earned. He said he was in discussion with a few Attorneys on the matter since information has not been forthcoming from the government on the matter.  “I’m asking some legal people because I know they are going to be difficult to give me an answer because we have not seen the agreement in relation the pipeline – to the financing of the pipeline. We have not seen that agreement and I don’t know if our MPs, when they go back, if they can make one more attempt to be asking and to imply whatever legal arrangements we have in place to get that agreement because to me, something is amiss,” Jordan related. Related Similar Articles

Jagdeo blames GPL’s management, old transmission lines for constant blackouts Sep 20, 2024 News Kaieteur News – Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday blamed the management of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) as well as the old transmission lines for the daily blackouts citizens are currently facing. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo He was at the time speaking at his weekly press conference at Freedom House. “So, they are telling me that when they move some of these lines, it is causing instability in the system or they have to take off the power to move a bit of the line. So, some of that is happening, some of it is the old system and frankly speaking, we are not happy with the management too, look at what’s going on. So, it’s a combination of factors and it bothers me a lot personally too and we are on it every day as policymakers,” Jagdeo said. The VP explained the he reached out to the management of GPL on Wednesday and they said that, “oh the system tripped in Berbice. Then they said some piling work has caused the blackout. So I am as concerned as any citizens because we are trying to get more power into the system but there is a lot of upgrade to the transmission and distribution system we have.” Jagdeo lamented that the current state of the grid is not stable and the more power that is put into the system it will cause further instability, hence the reason the government has gone out to tender to have upgrades done. “We have just prequalified I think about 20 companies to do a significant upgrade before the Gas to Energy project comes on stream. That means redundancy, circuits…if you have a single line and it goes off, everyone down the line gets affected. If you have redundancy in circuits then you can continue to supply people. The demand now had skyrocketed with the hotels we have nine hotels being built already some coming on stream,” Jagdeo said. Noting that a regular hotel may use about two megawatts of power, looking at “all the new housing schemes and houses being built, air conditioning and massive investments right across Guyana, the demand has skyrocketed and even for people who have higher income now, many of them are putting in AC’s etc. in their homes, so we are in a mad rush to keep pace until that big project comes on stream next year that will put 300 megawatts into the system.” Kesh Nandlall Chief Executive Officer GPL. Furthermore, Jagdeo said government is focused on “a modernisation programme that’s taking place but we are limping along because we keep putting more power into the system and it gets used up all the time and we are running the same power on the old transmission and distribution system. So you have more transformers going out etc,” he added. Chief Executive Officer of GPL Kesh Nandlall told this publication on Wednesday that while there are constant efforts to stabilise the grid, “It is a moving target, we have maintenance work to do so we are preparing ourselves for all of that. We are making preparations to be as stable as we can.” He explained that the additional 60 MW of power the government is seeking is to “prepare us from now to the new Gas to Energy availability and we have certain engines that are under overhaul and they are coming up live as we move along, and they are gonna be added to the system. (The engines) are under maintenance right now but we want to prepare ourselves from now to then which includes the Christmas holiday and every other thing.” On September 4th 2024 the GPL published an advertisement on its Facebook page inviting qualified bidders to submit proposals for the “Supply of 60MW Net Power Generation Baseload Capacity to the DBIS through Power Purchase Agreement”. On Tuesday the bids were opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) and Karpowership who already has an ongoing contract with Guyana submitted their bid along with four other bidders. VAS Energy submitted a bid to supply a total of 66MW of power for USD $61500 000, Andalusian Energy LLC submitted a bid to supply 60MW of power for USD $47, 650 000, JP Energy Solutions submitted their bid to supply 60MW of power for USD $37 740 480, Machinery Corporation of Guyana (MACORP) submitted their bid to supply power at $0.0645 USD per kilowatt hour and Karpowership Global DMCC Urbacon Trading and Contracting Inc submitted their bid to supply 60MW of power for USD $ 116 388 864. Back in May 10th, 2024 this publication had reported Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo saying that the Government of Guyana (GoG) was still looking for an additional 30 MW of power to add to the grid. He made the disclosure that the government is still actively seeking additional power, similar to the arrangement that was signed with the Turkish company for two years, until the Wales West Bank Demerara Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project comes on stream. Related Similar Articles

Exxon says not all costs for training being recovered Sep 20, 2024 News Kaieteur News – President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), Alistair Routledge has said that the company is not recovering all of its investments in training of Guyanese to prepare them for jobs in the petroleum sector. President, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Alistair Routledge In a letter to the editor on Thursday, Routledge commented on an article published in the Friday 13, 2024 edition of the newspaper, under the headline ‘Exxon’s new billboards misleading… Takes credit for investments but recovering cost from Guyana’s oil’. In that article, it was reported that over the past few weeks, ExxonMobil started a new campaign, taking credit for training and preparing Guyanese for employment in the sector; however, the fine print in the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) allows for those costs to be reclaimed. While Exxon boasted of its investment in skills training of Guyanese, the company failed to mention that it is recovering those costs in accordance with the provisions of the 2016 oil deal it signed with the Government of Guyana. The company’s advertisement states, “A growing industry means more job opportunities. Last year alone, Guyana’s-oil-and-gas employees benefitted from over 45,000 hours of leadership, professional, and technical training.” It goes on to claim, “We’re investing in new training programs and facilities right here in Guyana to help even more workers get the skills they need to succeed.” Under Annex ‘C’, Section Three of the Petroleum Agreement, training cost is explicitly listed as a recoverable expense that does not require the minister’s prior approval. The contract states: “All costs and expenses incurred by the Contractor in training of Guyanese personnel and such other amounts as may be expended on training under Article 19 of the Agreement,” can be recovered without Ministerial permission. In his response to the article, Routledge said, “Our investment in training Guyanese workers is a vital part of developing local capacity in the oil-and-gas sector. These efforts directly benefit the local workforce, equipping thousands of Guyanese with the skills essential for their long-term benefit and for the country’s long-term economic growth, and they will enhance profits for Guyana and livelihoods for Guyanese. That’s a win-win.” With 6,500 Guyanese employed in the industry, according to the Local Content Secretariat, Exxon said it remains committed to training more Guyanese to grow that number.  In the meantime, Routledge explained that recovering investments is standard across the industry. He did not debate the fact that Exxon was deducting Guyana’s oil to pay for training but indicated that the company and its partners have invested in non-recoverable training programmes.  “Investing in the Guyanese workers needed to produce Guyana’s oil and gas is as important as investing in the facilities. Cost recovery of all investments is a standard practice in global energy projects…it’s also important to note that as part of the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI), ExxonMobil Guyana and its Stabroek block co-venturers have invested tens of billions of GY dollars in non-cost-recoverable education and training programs,” Routledge said. Additionally, he noted that the University of Guyana, the Centre for Local Business Development and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs across Guyana are all beneficiaries of non-cost-recoverable GGI investments. Related Similar Articles

Alleged wife beater shot during scuffle with police Sep 20, 2024 News Kaieteur News – An alleged wife beater was shot on Wednesday during a scuffle with police, who were responding to an assault report made by the man’s wife at Little Diamond Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara. According to police reports, the 32-year-old construction worker, Jermaine Haynes, allegedly slapped his wife, smashed a table in their home and threatened to kill her. The woman then called the police and fled to the neighbour’s house for safety. In response to the report, which was sent to the Operations Room of Regional Division 4 ‘B’, two police constables equipped with 9mm handguns were sent to the location. When they arrived, the woman was still at the neighbour’s house. Police then proceeded to Haynes’ home, where they saw an enraged Haynes departed the house and attacked them. A scuffle broke out, and Haynes in the process, was able to disarm one of the police officers by holding onto one of his guns. As a result, the other police officer took his service weapon and fired two shots at Haynes, striking him in the lower right thigh. Haynes was apprehended, detained, and transported to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where he was treated under police supervision. Investigations are ongoing. Related Similar Articles

Man in court for $6.4M land sale scam Sep 20, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News Granted bail: Gopaul Tiwari Kaieteur News – A 56-year-old man from Craig, East Bank Demerara (EBD), on Wednesday appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court charged for allegedly defrauding an American citizen in a land sale scheme that amounted to $6.4 million. Gopaul Tiwari appeared before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty, who read the charge to him. The charge states that between May 8 and June 13, 2024, Tiwari allegedly with the intent to defraud, falsely claimed to be the owner of a parcel of land located at Lot 101 New Housing Scheme, Herstelling, East Bank Demerara and subsequently obtained the sum of $6,400,000 from Earlin Theodore Craig. Tiwari pleaded not guilty to the charge. According to police reports, Craig met Tiwari on April 5, 2024 at the Harbour Bridge Mall, Western Union. Following their introduction, Tiwari inquired whether Craig was interested in purchasing land he claimed to be selling. Craig agreed and between May 8 and June 13, he withdrew the agreed amount from Western Union and handed it over to Tiwari in Georgetown. After the transaction, Craig was unable to contact Tiwari and obtained the land. An investigation was initiated after Craig reported the incident. Tiwari was arrested on September 14, 2024, and upon being informed of the allegations, he denied receiving any money from Craig. During the court proceedings, Tiwari’s attorney, Dominic Bess, argued that the complaint arose from a disagreement between Tiwari and Craig. Bess noted that Tiwari had one prior conviction but no pending charges. The prosecutor objected to bail, citing Tiwari’s previous offence of a similar nature. However, bail was granted in the amount of $300,000. Tiwari is scheduled to return to court on October 16, 2024, for further proceedings. Related Similar Articles