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Guyana’s oil could be leaving by boatloads as Exxon given free pass to use as much as it needs for operations – Glenn Lall Sep 04, 2024 News Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil Guyana, the operator of Guyana’s oil rich Stabroek Block has been given a free pass to take as much of the country’s oil as it needs for its offshore operations, a move that could pave the way for boatloads of undocumented crude oil to be shipped away, according to Publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall. Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall The businessman and anti-corruption advocate, in a public message on his social media platforms, pointed to an article published by Kaieteur News on Monday under the headline ‘Guyana in the dark on how much oil is being deducted by Exxon for its operations – Int’l lawyer says matter is of serious concern.’ He pointed out that the oil giant, as per the terms of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), is allowed to use a reasonable amount of oil for its daily operations; however, there is no record of how much of this production is being used by the company. Article 11.9 of the Agreement states: “The Contractor shall have the right to use in any Petroleum Operations as much of the production as may reasonably be required by it therefore and the quantities so used or lost shall be excluded from any calculations of Cost Oil and/or Cost Gas and Profit Oil and/or Profit Gas entitlement.” Lall was keen to note that this state of affairs has been ongoing since oil production commenced in 2019. International Lawyer, Melinda Janki wrote to President Irfaan Ali in 2021 seeking answers on the quantity of oil being used by the company but never received a response. The newspaper Publisher argued that all other oil production related data has been made public by the government including how much gas was flared, used for fuel and re-injected, along with the quantity of produced water. To this end, he said, “When it comes to awe sweet crude oil, there is no explanation, beat that, five years now.” President, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Alistair Routledge In attempting to simplify the gravity of the situation for his viewers, he explained, “It’s like men picking your coconuts, and they can use a “reasonable” amount for themselves, but you have no meter, sorry, no one to check how much they’re taking every month. Yuh know what will happen? Boatloads will be leaving your farm secretly every day, while you sleeping in yuh bed.” The advocate pointed out that five years after the country commenced oil production activities, the country is yet to procure its own meters to verify the daily rate of oil production being reported to the government. Furthermore, Lall said this has caused further alarm since Exxon has bluntly refused to allow auditors access to its raw production data. It was reported that during the audit of Exxon’s 2018 and 2020 expenses, the company refused to provide a map of the metering points on the Liza Destiny, the country’s first Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. The auditors said the schematic would provide a visual representation of the physical flow of production as it is produced onto the FPSO, through the various types of production equipment, and into the storage tanks. ExxonMobil also bluntly refused to provide the raw production data to the audit team. To this end, the businessman reasoned, “Government is getting data that Exxon presents to them as raw data, hence they refused to give the auditors access to check the raw data on the production data at the pumps. To eliminate this issue is simple, put our own meters on each of the FPSOs, this way auditors would not have to beg Exxon to see the raw data, we would have this at our fingertips.” With government uninterested in implementing independent meters, Lall said the situation becomes sadder as the political Opposition seems to be in a deep slumber, failing to nip these issues in the bud. Related Similar Articles

Burkina Faso reclaims gold mines from largest British mining firm Sep 04, 2024 News Processing facilities at Teranga’s Wahgnion open-pit gold mine in Burkina Faso …move seen as bold step towards resource sovereignty Kaieteur News – Burkina Faso has struck a deal to nationalise two gold mines for about $80mn that London-listed Endeavour Mining agreed last year to sell to Lilium Mining for more than $300mn. Lilium will transfer ownership of Boungou and Wahgnion to the west African state, which will pay Endeavour $60mn in cash, the FTSE 100 company said in a statement on Tuesday. Burkina Faso will also pay a 3 per cent royalty on up to 400,000 ounces of gold sold from Wahgnion, the statement said, a provision that analysts estimated was worth $20mn. The settlement follows controversy around governance at Endeavour in the wake of former chief executive Sébastien de Montessus being sacked at the start of this year for “serious misconduct”. As part of Tuesday’s deal, the two companies will drop legal cases against each other. Endeavour launched arbitration in March against Lilium for missing payments, which then lodged a counterclaim a month later that alleged information was concealed and misrepresented about finances and operations at the two mines. Endeavour said “both parties would like to thank the Government of Burkina Faso for its mediation efforts”. Lilium Mining, a subsidiary of Lilium Capital, an investment vehicle founded by US-Burkinabe businessperson Simon Tiemtore, declined to comment. Burkina Faso’s junta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The nationalisation of the mines by Ouagadougou is the latest in a wave of African governments attempting to exert greater control over their natural resources as military regimes come to power. In June, the military junta that seized power in Niger last year stripped French state-owned giant Orano of its mining licence at the Imouraren mine, one of the world’s largest uranium mines, in the country’s north. Chief executive Nicolas Maes told investors last month that the company had started legal proceedings to protect its rights at Imouraren. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have been racked by a widening Islamist insurgency for more than a decade that has killed thousands, displaced millions and created security threats to mining operations. The three countries, which form part of the Sahel, the semi-arid strip south of the Sahara, have experienced multiple coups since 2020. The three countries have been at loggerheads with former colonial power France, the wider western community of nations and other countries from the regional Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) and have forged closer ties with Russia instead. Gold miners in Mali, which include Barrick Gold, the world’s second-largest producer of the precious metal, have also faced the threat of the military-led government pushing to increase its ownership of new projects under an updated mining code that was adopted last year. Burkina Faso revised its mining code last year to earn more royalties from mining companies following declining gold output as the long-running security crisis forced at least five mines to shut down. Endeavour Mining is a gold producer that grew rapidly through a series of mine purchases and sales to become one of the London market’s blue-chip stocks with a portfolio of five producing mines across Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Senegal. De Montessus was fired for an “irregular payment instruction” made in connection with the sale of the Agbaou mine in Ivory Coast. A subsequent probe unearthed two more “deliberately disguised” payments of $15mn to an unnamed third party. In Endeavour’s annual report released in March, the financial value of the Boungou and Wahgnion mines at the close of the Lilium deal was estimated to be $285mn but only $34mn had been received from Lilium as part of the transaction. Analysts said that the resolution was a boost for Endeavour given that no further proceeds were expected to be recouped anytime soon. “This settlement removes the sentiment overhang and costs of ongoing legal proceedings,” said analysts at Berenberg. (FINANCIAL TIMES) Related Similar Articles

 Man killed during row in cemetery  Sep 04, 2024 News Kaieteur News – Police in Regional Division Nine are investigating the murder of Julio Mandook, a resident of Aishalton Village, South Rupununi, which occurred on Monday. The incident reportedly took place around 1:00 p.m. According to Guyana Police Force (GPF), Mandook, along with several others, had gone to the Aishalton Cemetery to build a tomb and were consuming alcohol. The group was digging sand from a nearby walkway, approximately 600 meters from the tomb site, when the suspect, 18-year-old Delson Brown, intervened. Brown allegedly warned Mandook to stop removing sand from the walkway, as it could cause damage. An argument ensued, escalating into a physical altercation, during which Mandook was stabbed. Brown fled the scene following the incident. One of the men assisting with the sand returned to the walkway and discovered Mandook bleeding from a chest wound. He was immediately rushed to the Aishalton District Hospital, where he received treatment and was admitted. During a visit from his reputed wife, Mandook recounted the events before succumbing to his injury. Police have since arrested Brown, who remains in custody as the investigation continues. Related Similar Articles

‘Paddy bug wiped out $4B in rice cultivation in first crop’ – Mid-Year Report  Sep 04, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The Guyana Rice Development Board (GDRB) has estimated $4 billion in losses from paddy bugs, as a result of higher temperatures at the end of the first crop of 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance’s Mid-Year Report. The $4billion loss GRDB estimated was a result of 10-25 percent paddy bug infestation in paddy delivered to mills. “This was alarming when compared to an estimated infestation 10 percent in 2023,” the report said while highlighting that climate change has been a major factor given the increasing global temperatures. The agriculture sector, which accounts for about 23 percent of the non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is most prone to climate related risks; however, key industries have invested to expand production to remain viable. “In rice, we are advancing research in climate-smart varieties to respond to drought, flood and saline conditions,” the report stated.  Globally the challenges for rice production vary from insects, pests, diseases and weeds, which increased due to the shift of precipitation and temperature. The Government noted in the report that chemical options are being used until research and development of appropriate biocontrol agents are completed for application during the second crop. Meanwhile, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Agriculture on August 7, 2024, the GRDB reported that over 360,000 metric tonnes of rice have been produced. The GRDB is already targeting 750,000 tonnes by 2025. Additionally, between 2020 and 2024 (first crop), the rice yield has increased from 5.9 tonnes per hectare to approximately 6.6 tonnes per hectare. This means that a farmer in 2020 harvested 38 bags of rice per acre and in 2024 is harvesting41 bags per acre. Related Similar Articles

‘Critic’ guilty of contempt of court Sep 04, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News Mikhail Rodrigues popularly known as the ‘Guyanese Critics’ – ordered to pay $100k fine, issue public apology Kaieteur News – On Tuesday, Mikhail Rodrigues popularly known as the ‘Guyanese Critics’ appeared before Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif in the High Court where he pleaded guilty to contempt of court. He was ordered to pay $100,000 by September 9. Failure to do so will see him being sent to jail for three days. He also has to issue a public apology to the court. Rodrigues was cited for contempt in accordance of Section 6 of the Contempt Act, after he live-streamed a section of a court hearing via his Facebook page without having the court’s permission to do so. This occurred on August 30th during the defamation hearing for a lawsuit filed against Rodrigues by Former Minister of Government Simona Broomes for defamation of character. The court was made aware of his actions when the live stream ended and he was summoned to make an appearance and provide cause why he should not be held in contempt. The court document states that he must issue the apology on his show and also publish it on his website. Broomes had filed a $450 million libel and defamation lawsuit in February of this year. Broomes is suing Rodrigues over several libelous statements, which he made against her on his morning programme, ‘They Break News’. She has asked the court to award her $450M in damages. In court documents seen by this newspaper, the former Minister lists 14 times that the social media commentator made statements defaming her on his January 24, 2024 programme. In the document drafted by attorney Dexter Todd, Broomes noted that Rodrigues accused her of engaging in revolting activities. The lawsuit details that on his January 24, 2024 programme which was broadcast on Facebook, Rodrigues made the libelous statements against Broomes. As part of the lawsuit, seeking an injunction that would restrain Rodrigues, his servants and or his agents, from further publishing or causing to be publish, any statement by him that would convey the impression that she was involved. She is also seeking an order to have Rodrigues remove the offending programme from all social media platforms, to retract his statements and issue an apology to her. The lawsuit covers several parts of the broadcast that was done by Rodrigues and the many statements he made at various points in relation to Broomes. In her grounds to support the claim, Broomes noted that she was a politician, Member of Parliament under the APNU+AFC Government, and a human rights activist who is highly respected nationally and internationally as a leader, businesswoman and miner. Broomes was awarded by the U.S. State Department in 2013 as an International Hero in the fight against human trafficking in Guyana.  At all material times, she noted Rodrigues falsely and maliciously published boldly and sensationally untrue allegations and statements about her on his widely viewed Facebook programme ‘They Break News.’’ Related Similar Articles

Investment in infrastructure will prepare Guyana for post oil economy – Jagdeo Sep 04, 2024 News Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo Kaieteur News – Chief policymaker in the oil and gas sector and Vice President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo told the media last Thursday that the investment the government is currently making in infrastructure will prepare the country to sustain its economy after oil has been exhausted. The Minister of Natural Resources recently disclosed that the projects currently producing may very well be exhausted before 20 years given the ramped up production by operator of the Stabroek Block ExxonMobil. Following the disclosure, it was a concern voiced by citizens; what will happen to Guyana after oil is finished. This publication asked the VP if when oil is exhausted, will Guyana continue to borrow loans to finance the country’s development like they are doing today? Saying that the question should be posed to the opposition, Jagdeo questioned, “So you are saying, don’t build the power plant now, don’t build the other infrastructure now?… Cause a lot of this infrastructure that we’re putting in is not just a social nature (but of an) economic nature.” He explained that the power plant will facilitate lower rates for electricity and will therefore create the atmosphere to move further into the manufacturing sector. Building more farm to market roads and processing facilities like tissue culture labs will allow for further progression of the agriculture sector. “So you have to plan for the day when oil is no longer available or does not generate the same sort of income that it will generate say about three years from now because we are not at peak revenue from oil as yet,” he added. He boasted that all of these things are ways the government is preparing for the economy post oil and gas, and, this is something that they would have said to the opposition. Going back to the time when he was President Jagdeo disclosed that he had spoken to three Prime Ministers to see what measures they were putting in place to upkeep their citizenry after oil, however he does not feel that anything significant was done to diversify the economy there. Hence, the country ended up having a major welfare loss because of this. “So we are determined not to find ourselves in a situation like that, that’s the first point. So from day one, we are working for long-term sustainability so that you can generate income from other sectors to sustain the growth in prosperity,” he said. Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat has admitted that oil from the three projects currently in operation could be depleted ahead of the 20-year lifespan due to the optimization of production at the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPS) vessels. Bharrat, during a news conference, was asked by this  newspaper to explain how the optimisation works could affect the 20-year estimated project life for each of the developments. Bharrat explained that while the oil at a specific project could be depleted before its estimated lifespan, it was also possible for the projects to produce beyond this time. He said, “Yes it can finish before the 20 years or it can even go beyond because as a reservoir matures, you can get more out of it and then as we have more discoveries, we can add those wells to the existing development too.” Bharrat pointed out that ramping up oil production has now become a trend in oil-producing states since this could prove more financially viable for a country – in this case, Guyana. According to him, “Ramping up production and producing the oil in a reservoir at a faster time than you can is actually good for a country because it comes back to the window that is available for fossil fuel to survive and the price that will be available.” He explained that the market would be crowded with suppliers even though the demand would go down. Consequently, he noted, “So if you have this large supply of fossil but a small demand, the price will go down so much that it will make no sense for countries to produce oil and gas anymore.” Related Similar Articles