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‘All costs for damage above oil spill insurance can be recovered by ExxonMobil’ – contract Sep 03, 2024 News Map depicting the predicted transport after 45 days from an unmitigated 177,157 barrels per day spill at the Haimara wellhead in the Stabroek Block (Source Exxon CIA) In absence of unlimited parent company guarantee… Kaieteur News – ExxonMobil, the operator of Guyana’s oil-rich Stabroek Block has repeatedly committed to covering all costs associated with an oil spill that occurs during offshore production activities. However, such costs will be recovered from Guyana’s oil. This is according to the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) Guyana signed with ExxonMobil and its partners.  ExxonMobil affiliate ExxonMobil Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45% interest in the Stabroek block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest. The agreement stipulates that oil spill costs not covered by the insurance provided by ExxonMobil will be funded by Guyana.  Annex ‘C’ Section 3 of the PSA, which addresses costs recoverable without the approval of the Minister, makes it explicit at 3.1(g) that insurance and losses can be recovered. It states: “Insurance premium and cost incurred for insurance pursuant to Article 20 provided that if such insurance is wholly or partly placed with an Affiliated Company of the Parties comprising the Contractor, such premium and costs shall be recoverable only to the extent generally charged by competitive insurance companies other than an Affiliated Company of a Party comprising the Contractor.” The contract continues, “Costs, losses and damages incurred to the extent not made good by insurance, are recoverable, including costs, losses or damages resulting from the indemnities in Article 2 of the Agreement, unless such costs, losses or damages have resulted solely from an act of willful misconduct or gross negligence of the Contractor.” This means that Guyana will have to prove that an oil spill was caused by gross negligence or willful misconduct by Exxon for those costs to be borne by the company.  Cognizant of the damage that can be done by an oil spill, two Guyanese went to Court demanding an unlimited parent company guarantee, which is a signed document that legally binds Exxon to cover costs above the limited insurance. Exxon presently has a US$600 million insurance coverage per oil spill event. High Court Judge, Justice Sandil Kissoon on May 3, 2023 ordered the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) to issue an Enforcement Notice to Exxon Mobil to ensure it provides an unlimited oil spill coverage to safeguard Guyana, but the ruling was subsequently appealed by both Exxon and the EPA. The government was later added as a party to the case, fighting against the provision of this guarantee. While the Court of Appeal deliberates on the matter, Exxon, Hess and CNOOC have lodged a US$2B oil spill guarantee to cover damages above the insurance.  Citizens have however continued to call for full protection against an oil spill, especially since such a disaster could not only affect Guyana, but Caribbean nations as well. Notably, the modelling results showed that an unmitigated oil spill can reach Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Martinique, and Barbados as well as Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica. Exxon’s commitment President of EMGL, Alistair Routledge during a May 19, 2023 press conference explained that Guyana was safe from liabilities associated with a spill. The company had called the media shortly after the High Court ordered an unlimited parent company guarantee to protect this country from the financial burdens of a spill. At that time, he pointed to the company’s insurance policy, a US$600M coverage per event, and the US$2B guarantee which was being discussed. He said, “We have an absolute obligation as the operator and the investor in the Stabroek Block to prevent incidents from happening, do everything we can and to mitigate those and if we have to, then we bear the cost of cleanup and any liabilities that go with that…but our absolute commitment is to first prevent these from happening.” Related Similar Articles

Israeli fire kills dozens in Gaza, polio vaccinations in full swing Sep 03, 2024 News A Palestinian sits amidst the rubble of buildings destroyed after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip September 1, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem CAIRO/GAZA Sept 2 (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed at least 48 Palestinians in the past 24 hours across the Gaza Strip as they battled Hamas-led militants, Palestinian officials said on Monday, while medics conducted a second day of polio vaccinations for children in the enclave. Palestinian and UN officials said more than 80,000 children had been vaccinated in central areas of Gaza on Sunday, the first day of the campaign. Hamas and Israel have agreed to brief pauses in fighting to allow the campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children to go ahead. No violations have been reported near vaccination facilities. Seven Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air strikes on Gaza City, Palestinian officials said on Monday, while two air strikes killed six others in Bureij and Nuseirat, two of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters had confronted Israeli forces in north, south and in some central area of Gaza with anti-tank rockets and mortar fire. UNRWA, the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, repeated its call on Monday for an immediate ceasefire to help ensure a successful and safe polio vaccination campaign. “On 1st day only, @UNRWA teams & partners reached around 87,000 children according to @WHO. Efforts are ongoing to provide children with this key vaccine, but what they need most is a CeasefireNow,” it said on the X social media platform. Israel and Hamas have continued to trade blame for the failure to conclude a ceasefire, that would end the war, and see the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza and many Palestinians jailed in Israel. DEADLY DISEASE Parents continued bringing their infants to be vaccinated at medical facilities on Monday. The World Health Organization (WHO) says a drop in routine vaccinations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, has contributed to the re-emergence of polio in the area. Polio myelitis is a highly infectious virus that can cause paralysis and death in infants, with under-2s most at risk. The WHO confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years. “I am happy that I vaccinated my children against polio so that they don’t suffer from anything in the future, God willing. Hopefully all Gazan children get vaccinated not only against polio but against other diseases too,” said Waffa Abdelhadi after getting her two daughters, aged five months and five years old, vaccinated at a medical facility in Deir Al-Balah. She had to navigate roads devastated by war, with wrecked residential buildings on all sides, to reach the facility. “We don’t (only) want vaccinations. We want them to stop the war,” said Abdelhadi, adding she had been displaced with her family seven times in recent months. Palestinians say a key reason for the return of polio is the collapse of the health system and the destruction of most Gaza hospitals. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes, which the Islamist group denies. The 11-month old war in Gaza was triggered after Hamas militants on Oct. 7 stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages by Israeli tallies. Since then, an estimated 40,786 Palestinians have been killed and more than 94,000 injured in Gaza, the enclave’s health ministry said on Monday. Israeli protesters took to the streets for a second day on Monday and the largest trade union launched a general strike to press the government to reach a deal to return hostages still held by Hamas, after six more captives were found dead in Gaza. Related Similar Articles

Essequibo businessman gunned down in home Sep 03, 2024 News Kaieteur News – Sixty-one-year-old businessman, Ghanraj Bhasmat, was shot and killed at his home in Adventure, Essequibo Coast, Region Two, on Monday morning. Murdered, Ghanraj Bhasmat According to the police, Bhasmat lived with his 47-year-old wife, Durpattie Ragobar, and their 30-year-old daughter. Ragobar informed investigators that she and her husband were awakened by a noise. While she remained in bed, her husband went to investigate in the hallway. Moments later, she heard four gunshots followed by a shout of “thief.” Ragobar recounted that she rushed outside to the bathroom area, where she discovered her husband lying in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was immediately taken to the Suddie Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. Notably, the Police reported that the suspect gunman/gunmen shot and killed Bhasmat from outside the house through a louver window connected to the washroom; failing to gain entry into the residence. Bhasmat’s son Poonraj Lakeram told this publication that during the wee hours of Monday he heard the loud noise so he rushed over to his father’s residence. The man said he lives nearby. Lakeram said when he arrived, he saw his father lying in a pool of blood on the bottom flat of the home. “They went kick the door downstairs and me old boy get up now to go and see what happen and when he gone to see now, them man like they went at the washroom area, the toilet part and they shot him,” the son said. The man added, “I hustle to get police and stuff, and when I call 911 nobody nah answer.” Lakeram noted that while he believes that more than one person is involved, only one person can be seen on the footage. The investigation into the murder of Ghanraj Bhasmat is ongoing. Related Similar Articles

US seizes Venezuelan President Maduro’s plane Sep 03, 2024 News The US justice department says the plane is owned and used by Nicolás Maduro and those affiliated with him in Venezuela Reuters – The US has seized a plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – claiming it was bought illegally for $13m (£9.8m) and smuggled out of the country. According to the US justice department, the Falcon 900EX aircraft was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the US state of Florida. It is unclear how and when the plane ended up in the Dominican Republic. Tracking data showed it leaving La Isabela airport near the capital Santo Domingo on Monday, arriving at Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida soon after. There was no immediate comment from Mr Maduro or the Venezuelan government over the matter. US officials said the plane was seized for suspected violations of US export control and sanctions laws. They added that an investigation found that people affiliated with Mr Maduro had allegedly used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in the plane’s illegal purchase from a company based in Florida in late 2022 and early 2023. The aircraft was then illegally exported from the United States to Venezuela through the Caribbean in April 2023. The argument by US officials that the plane’s sale and export was in violation of US sanctions is unlikely to carry much weight with President Maduro, who has repeatedly accused the US of meddling in his country’s internal affairs. A spokesperson for the White House national security council said the action represented “an important step to ensure that Maduro continues to feel the consequences from his misgovernance of Venezuela”. Markenzy Lapointe, US attorney for the Southern District of Florida said the Dominican Republic authorities had given the US government “invaluable assistance” in organising the seizure. “It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials – we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States,” said Matthew S Axelrod from the department of commerce – one of the federal agencies involved in the operation to recover the plane. The plane appeared to be flown to the Venezuelan capital Caracas after arriving in Kingston in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in April 2023, according to data held by the Flightradar24 website. US officials said it subsequently flew “almost exclusively to and from a military base in Venezuela”. It is unclear how and when the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic. But US officials said the jet had been used by Mr Maduro “on visits to other countries”. The Venezuelan government announced in late July that it was temporarily suspending commercial flights to both the Dominican Republic and Panama following the controversial re-election of Mr Maduro. This is not the first time Mr Maduro or Venezuela’s government has been targeted by US federal authorities over alleged corruption. In 2020, the justice department charged Mr Maduro and 14 Venezuelan officials, with narco-terrorism, corruption and drug trafficking, among other charges. The state department has offered a reward of up to $15m for information leading to Mr Maduro’s arrest or conviction. Related Similar Articles

Guyanese Bank manager charged with murder-for-hire scheme in New York Sep 03, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News …Court told she suggested rat poison after hiring hitman to murder brother-in-law Fox News – A New York bank manager sentenced last week to 9.5 years behind bars for a foiled murder-for-hire scheme against her brother-in-law allegedly told the would-be hitman that “rat poison can do a great job.” In July 21 surveillance footage obtained by investigators, Masserone can be seen withdrawing $2,500 from a bank in Orange County, New York. (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York) Reshma Massarone, a 40-year-old branch manager at Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, plotted to kill her sister’s husband over Facebook Messenger between July 2023 and August 2023, according to court documents, and was caught on security footage wiring a $2,500 down payment to a would-be hitman at a Western Union kiosk inside a Walgreens. Massarone asked her years-long friend to kill the man while he was travelling with family in Guyana, according to court documents. But that friend, who is a Guyanese police officer, went undercover to build a case against her, leading to her guilty plea to murder-for-hire. She was sentenced on Aug. 27. ‘NO TURNING BACK’ Between July 20 and Aug. 16, 2023, Reshma Masserone, a branch manager at a credit union in New York State, allegedly used Facebook Messenger to ask an old friend, who is unnamed in the federal complaint filed against Masserone, to help carry out the criminal act. (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York) “You take care of business and you be a rich man,” Massarone wrote to the would-be hitman in one exchange. In another, she told him that “either way, if I find somebody to do the job, you’re going to get blamed, so cut the bulls**t and let’s get it done.” The plot unraveled when the would-be hitman contacted the victim and his wife, who “went to the United States Embassy in Guyana to report that Massarone … had placed a hit on the victim” to take place as soon as July 25, 2023. Massarone’s friend recorded a call in which Massarone made it clear that she wanted her brother-in-law dead, saying that the solicited murder should look like a robbery. That call was later translated by a DEA special agent and a native Guyanese speaker and used as evidence in court. Security camera footage from Walgreen’s shows Masserone completing a wire transfer at a Western Union kiosk. In the footage, she hands a cashier 25 $100 bills, totaling $2,500, according to the complaint. (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York) Security camera footage from Walgreen’s shows Masserone completing a wire transfer at a Western Union kiosk. In the footage, she hands a cashier 25 $100 bills, totaling $2,500, according to the complaint. (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York) In a presentencing submission, Massarone’s attorney said that his client had acted “completely out of character” and in a “state of rage,” claiming that she had been provoked by her brother-in-law’s “twenty-five-year systemic harassment.” The would-be victim was “clearly scorned,” because he “was not given the opportunity to marry [Massarone] at age 15.” Instead, the defense wrote, the man married Massarone’s then-16-year-old sister. Massarone tried to advance her career in banking, her attorney wrote, but the victim “continued to ruin her professional life by systematically calling her [place of] employment in an attempt to get her fired.” “The man spent the last 25 years attempting to ruin Ms. Massarone in every way possible, including but not limited to, harassing her beautiful and highly intelligent eldest daughter who the ‘victim’ attempted to get disqualified from a beauty pageant and is a Dean’s List student in college,” the defense memo said. “What prevents this man from calling up a law school she intends on applying to? What prevents this so-called victim from continuing his disparaging remarks on social media of Ms. Massarone’s youngest daughter or husband?” “Nothing, is the answer,” the memo added. Between July 20 and Aug. 16, 2023, Reshma Masserone, a branch manager at a credit union in New York State, allegedly used Facebook Messenger to ask an old friend, who is unnamed in the federal complaint filed against Masserone, to help carry out the criminal act. (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York) “She lost jobs, paid attorneys, called the police, had orders of protection in place, relocated her family, had security systems installed in her home, and nothing stopped [the victim] from his continuous attack of her,” her attorney wrote. At least one order of protection was issued on Massarone’s behalf against the victim, according to Queens Criminal Court documents. Massarone is no stranger to the courts – she has sued two banks over the past two years, claiming that they had racially discriminated against her while she had worked there. Both cases were tossed out. Prosecutors were less than sympathetic, with U.S. Attorney Damian Williams saying the woman’s “chilling plan to have a member of her own family murdered for the low price of ten thousand dollars” was “unthinkably heartless,” after her sentencing. “Certainly, the victim’s conduct is not to be commended,” prosecutors wrote in their own sentencing memo. “But it should also not be considered so harassing, or abusive, to [justify Massarone’s behavior].” “The defendant’s victim-blaming should not be rewarded, and her request for a sentence reduction… should be denied,” prosecutors wrote ahead of the Aug. 27 sentencing. Previously, Massarone’s family had accused her of exploiting a dying relative by taking out an insurance policy on her, shedding light on the tensions within the family. “This cold-hearted animal attempted to exploit my dying sister . . . so this is her karma that came back full circle,” one relative wrote on Facebook. “That woman is evil,” another posted, the New York Post reported. “She has been torturing and tormenting people for a very long time.” “She wasn’t satisfied, she didn’t get her way, so she wanted to murder him,” one family member told the outlet. “I think her next step was to get him assassinated or murdered, because she was stuck with these attorney’s fees and all that . . . I think, in her mind, it was to get rid of the problem rather than go to litigation.” Massarone’s lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. Related Similar Articles

Duo jailed for stealing over $26m in valuables from businessman, others Sep 03, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News Kaieteur News – A 27-year-old bus driver and 30-year-old vendor on Friday were sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment each, when they appeared at the Suddie Magistrate’s Court to answer to a charge of break-and-enter and larceny committed between August 24, and August, 25, 2024. Safraz Oullah called ‘Antsman’ and Joel Christopher Li were charged jointly with the offence that states they stole a quantity of jewellery, United States (US) currency, a watch and Guyana currency totaling $26,565,000, property of a 30-year-old businessman, his father and mother, of Three Friends, Essequibo Coast. Oullah and Christopher Li, appeared before Magistrate Tamieka Clarke and pleaded guilty to the charge, and were sentenced to three years and four months each. Related Similar Articles