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Despite 8 new discoveries, Govt. claims Guyana’s oil reserves only grew by 600M  Aug 15, 2024 News …but ExxonM’s partner CNOOC in 2023 reported 746M barrels in one discovery Kaieteur News – In its 2023 annual report that was released this year, ExxonMobil’s partner, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) said that one of the eight new discoveries Lancetfish which was discovered in April 2023, averaged 100 million tons, translating to an estimated 746 million barrels of oil. However, the Guyana Government on Wednesday claimed that since the last update in 2022, the reserves have only grown by 600M barrels.  This glaring contradiction, which was done at a televised news conference will further undermine government’s claim of being transparent in its dealing with citizens in the oil and gas sector. During his press conference on Wednesday, the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat was addressing an estimation by S&P Global saying, “that is not true and speaking of resources, we have had a minimal increase in resources. I think we have moved to 11.6B now, 11.6B barrels equivalent offshore in the Stabroek Block now and that by itself is a significant find.” His belief is that the analytics company has no data on which their analysis and calculations are based, since the government and Exxon are the ‘custodians’ of the data. Should Exxon exhibit or share any data, especially internationally at conferences, Bharrat is saying that approval has to be sought from the government. “So I am not sure where the analysts will get the data on Guyana from.” “Like one person said, we have 18B reserves, I don’t know where they get the data from honestly because Exxon and the Government of Guyana have that data, we have our consultant that is working with us but these people magically pull a figure our of the air,” he lamented. The minister explained that if the country indeed has 18B barrels in its reserves, they would not be hiding it. “If we have 18B, we will say that because it means well for our country. There’s no reason to hide it as a matter of fact, hiding it will only stagnate our economy in this country.” Bharrat cautioned the media that, “we gotta be factual, we gotta be truthful, we can’t lie to the people and say we have 18B whoever said that I don’t know where they got the information from but certainly not from Guyana. I can tell you that.” He is confident that the information the company used did not come, “from Exxon, not from the Ministry of Natural Resources, not from GGMC. I don’t know; maybe they have some magic wand that they can pull the data and they can determine how much resources we have.” Government’s unchanging tune Despite three different credible sources reporting on the significant increase in the country’s reserves, the government continues to sing its unchanging tune of “no significant increase.” After each revelation, the Vice President was repeatedly asked about the status of the reserves to which his response has been, ‘there has been no major change in the reserves.’ The country manager for Exxon Guyana Alistair Routledge has also maintained the same tune. International experts from US analytics company S&P Global recently put the current reserves at 18.7 billion barrels, an increase from a previous estimation by the Chairman of the Wales Development Agency Asgar Ali who put the reserves to at least 15B barrels in May of this year. Chairman of Wales Development Authority, Asgar Ally in January had said that some 15 billion barrels of oil have already been discovered to date in the Stabroek Block. Ally, a former Finance Minister and former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, represented Guyana at the Jamaica Stock Exchange Conference held in January. During an interview at the conference, he made the disclosure of an additional 4 billion barrels of oil being discovered. “As of this point in time, we don’t know the full extent of the oil deposits but it’s huge and I could explain what that means. It’s about… I would say they have identified at least 15 billion barrels of oil in the (Stabroek) Block. So at this point in time, I would say Exxon has identified about 25 to 35% of that,” Ally who is an economist stated. Notwithstanding, Ally said that over 4 billion barrels more have been discovered. Added to this, he explained, “If you have the time, I can explain to you what has happened. You see at one stage, Africa and Latin America were joined together. So West Africa is closer to the South American coast, of which Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, a part of and there is under that coast a basin of oil, huge basin of oil.”  “Every day we are finding new oil discoveries… Nobody knows the full extent (but) every day they are finding more,” he added. Meanwhile, in a May report, American analytics company S&P Global Inc. said that Guyana’s oil reserves has increased to approximately 18.7 billion barrels of recoverable resources since 2015. The report was compiled by S&P Global Commodity Insights analysts Fernanda Machado, Mariana Anjos and Jerry Jarvis. “In just nine years, it has established itself as the fifth largest [basin] in Latin America, while continuing to grow,” the analysts said. Production is expected to peak in 2037 at 2.3 million boe/d, with oil accounting for 90%, they said. “High-quality, low-emissions and cost-effective barrels have already reached European markets,” the analysts said. “Currently, all gas production is associated with oil and reinjected, but the marketed gas is expected to increase.” Concerns have been raised about the lack of transparency about the country’s oil reserves. The Government of Guyana has failed to regularly update the public on the status of the reserves and how they are being managed. In April, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo explained that while the recent discoveries made by ExxonMobil are substantial, they do not represent a significant increase in the country’s overall oil reserves. The Vice President told reporters, “Right now, there is an assumption that the information is being withheld, that’s false. I pointed out to you that we get these reports every three months and the reports that we have state what the reserves are and that has not changed materially over the past maybe year or so, so that’s not withholding information that we have.” According to him, “Information about the reserves have been part of that report and it’s around the same 11 billion barrels. I’ve pointed out that…a discovery doesn’t mean that you know the size of the reserve. That to get to that size of reserve, long after the discovery, you have to do appraisal, see the type of rock, a complex process before you get to the reserve.”

Father registers births of baby twins killed by Israeli strike in Gaza Aug 15, 2024 News Mohammed Abu al-Qumsan shows the birth certificates of his twins after learning they were killed in a strike Kaieteur News – Newborn twins were reportedly killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza while their father was at a local government office to register their birth. Asser, a boy, and Ayssel, a girl, were just four days old when their father Mohammed Abu al-Qumsan went to collect their birth certificates. While he was away, his neighbours called to say their home in Deir al Balah had been bombed. The strike also killed his wife and the twins’ grandmother. “I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I am told it was a shell that hit the house.” “I didn’t even have the time to celebrate them,” he added. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says 115 infants have been born and then killed during the war. According to AP news agency, the family had followed an order to evacuate Gaza City in the opening weeks of the Israel-Gaza war, seeking shelter in a central part of the strip, as the Israeli army instructed. The BBC has asked the Israeli army for comment on the strike, and is waiting for a response. Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas operating in dense residential areas, including using civilian buildings as shelter. But officials rarely comment on individual strikes. Several such shelters in Gaza have been attacked in the past few weeks. On Saturday, an Israeli air strike on a school building sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City killed more than 70 people, the director of a hospital told the BBC. An Israeli military spokesman said the school “served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility”, which Hamas denied. Israel disputed the number of dead, but the BBC could not independently verify figures from either side. Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in an attack on Israel on 7 October, taking 251 others back to Gaza as hostages. That attack triggered a massive Israeli military offensive on Gaza and the current war. More than 39,790 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli campaign, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Related Similar Articles

Govt. bans transacting business with gold Aug 15, 2024 News Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana has banned the use of gold to pay miners wages and transact business in Guyana’s mining district. Guyana’s Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat at a press conference on Wednesday said his government has decided to take this step as one of the ways to clamp down on smuggling and stop decline in gold declaration. The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) published a notice in the daily newspapers saying that “mine operators and claim/permit holders are prohibited against payment of wages and services in gold.” “This public notice reminds all mine operators, claim holders, permit holders, and lessees that paying wages or compensating goods and service providers with gold in any form is strictly prohibited,” GGMC said in the notice before adding, “This is in accordance with the governing regulations regarding the conveyance of gold, which forbids such transactions without the proper permits or licences from the relevant authorities.” The notice reminded too that “all mine operators and claim/permit holders and licensees must only sell gold to the “Guyana Gold Board and/or authorised dealers and their agents, or traders licensed by the GGMC” and warned that failure to comply will result in their gold being seized and legal action taken against them. For years, the use of gold to transact business in Guyana’s interior location has been a common practice. Some of the reasons for this are because of the remoteness of some of the locations and the difficulty to get cash there-especially when it comes to the paying of wages. Most workers prefer to be paid immediately after a wash down (known as cut); only few would opt to wait on their bosses to travel to the cities and nearby landings to get cash. Related Similar Articles

Man pinned to death after tractor toppled at Matthews Ridge Aug 15, 2024 News Tractor involved in the accident Kaieteur News – A 29-year-old resident of Matthews Ridge, North West District (NWD) Region One died after being pinned by a tractor on Monday at Jawbone Backdam Trail. Police identified the man as Horman Bumbery. According to police reports, Bumbery was an occupant in a tractor driven by a 35-year-old named Anzel Ashby. Also present in the tractor was 31-year-old Leon Meadas who are all residents of Matthews Ridge. Enquiries disclosed that the driver and the two occupants were heading to Jawbone Backdam. Meadas was seated on the right-side fender, while Bumbery was on the left-side fender.  At the time of the incident, the tractor was traveling downhill when the left-side front and rear wheels fell into a pothole. This led to the tractor tipping over onto its left side, pinning Bumbery underneath and also trapping Ashby. Meadas fell off the tractor and sustained injuries to his left foot and ribs. He was assisted by a passerby and was transported to the Baramita Cottage Hospital, where he was admitted in serious condition. Shortly after, police were summoned to the scene. Upon their arrival around 22:15 hrs, Bumbery and the driver had already been removed from under the tractor by public-spirited individuals. They were both escorted to the Baramita Cottage Hospital where Bumbery was pronounced dead on arrival and Ashby was treated and discharged. Ashby was arrested and tested with a breathalyzer, which showed a result of 0.0 micrograms. He was further placed in custody assisting police with investigations. The body of the deceased was escorted to the Port Kaituma Hospital Mortuary, awaiting a post-mortem examination, while Meadas was medevaced to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for advanced medical attention. Related Similar Articles

University of Guyana launches marine institute at Berbice Campus Aug 15, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The University of Guyana has launched the Institute for Marine and Riverine Ecologies and Economies (IMAREE) at its Berbice Campus. This new institute is a crucial addition to Guyana’s premier tertiary educational institution, particularly in a nation that boasts the title “the land of many waters,” the Ministry of Public Works said in a release. The launch event was attended by several officials, including Vickram Bharrat, Minister of Natural Resources, and representatives from the University of Guyana, such as Prof. Gomathinyagam Subrimanian, Director of the UG Berbice Campus, and Prof. Paloma Mohamed Martin, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana. During the launch event at the University of Guyana’s John’s Science Centre in Berbice, Minister of Public Works, Juan A. Edghill, emphasised the importance of this initiative. He noted that water is an essential part of everyday life in Guyana, yet the ordinary person often takes for granted two things: the life below those waters and the ways in which these waterways preserve our existence. Minister Edghill expressed concern for the crises facing Guyana’s water bodies, including the negative impacts of climate change, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity caused by overexploitation and other human actions. He commended the University of Guyana for this timely initiative, stating, “It is high time that we focus our scholarship on the examination and chronicling of the marine and riverine resources that our nation has been imbued with, toward a view of sustainable usage and rehabilitation where necessary.” The minister also discussed the government’s initiatives to manage Guyana’s maritime resources sustainably, while supporting livelihoods and mitigating the effects of climate change. He highlighted Guyana’s Maritime Economy Plan, which provides a vision and direction that considers national issues, international commitments, and the challenges faced by small developing states. The plan aims to support economic growth, livelihoods, and jobs, as well as reduce losses from natural hazards, extreme weather events, and climate change. Related Similar Articles

Court case looms over City Hall refusal to place long-standing workers on fixed establishment Aug 15, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News City Workers have been in dialogue with the GLU and Council over their retirement benefits Kaieteur News – A lawsuit is likely to be brought against the Georgetown municipality over an alleged refusal by the administration of the city to place long-standing employees on the Fixed Establishment arrangement of City Hall. The employees said they are at risk of losing their retirement benefits. Many of the employees began working with the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) since they were teenagers and are now over forty. Despite their long years of service, they now face retirement with little to no prospects of receiving a pension. As such, the workers have described the situation as deeply unfair. Elton Williams, 42 one of the affected employees told this newspaper that the matter has been dragging on since 2006. “I am a heavy-duty operator working with the council for 20 years and I know of a lot of workers like me who council has refused to place on the fixed establishment because they don’t want to pay our pension,” he said. The city worker explained that he and the other workers are represented by the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) led by Carvil Duncan, in the discussions with the municipality. However, the Council has been adamant that in order for the workers to be placed on the Fixed Establishment, a worker must be 45-years or younger, in order to receive pension from the age of 55. Williams explained that “The matter had reached arbitration in 2006, and there was an agreement that the workers should be placed on fixed establishment but the Council never did that. Now, we are here 20 years later facing the same problems and the workers are tired because we feel as though are interests are being overlooked. It’s like 100 persons who stand to lose their pension.” He believes that the Council wants to avoid placing the workers on the fixed arrangement in accordance with the arbitration agreement; because this would mean they have to remit all the monies they have been paying to the pension fund for the past 20 years…So they had been going around the bush with it.” Williams said the GLU has also not given the concerned workers any assurance that the matter will be resolved. “We have been waiting on the Union or the Council to give us some definite answers and they ain’t saying nothing. So, we have started to talk to lawyers on this because we are not getting anywhere with this.” Under the fixed establishment, it allows workers of the City Council to be able to claim their pension when they retire at 55 years old; they are entitled to non-contributory pension and gratuity on retirement …they must serve at least 10 years to be eligible for pension and gratuity. This newspaper understands that under the unfixed establishment, men retire at age 65 and women at 60. Additionally, this arrangement requires persons are paid contributory pension scheme benefit.  Council contributes 5 % and employees 5 % of their basic monthly salary towards the scheme. Related Similar Articles

Bandits invade Johnny P’s Supermarket Aug 15, 2024 News – escape with cash, hold supervisor, labourer at gunpoint Kaieteur News – Bandits on Tuesday night intruded and robbed a supervisor and occupant of the Johnny P’s Supermarket at gunpoint of an undisclosed amount of cash and valuables. According to the police report, the alleged robbery took place on Tuesday at around 20:00hrs at the Johnny P’s Supermarket located at Lot 12 Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown. A female supervisor at the supermarket was relieved of one gold chain, while a 51-year-old labourer who resides in the upper flat of the establishment was relieved of one Samsung cellphone valued at $45,000 by three male perpetrators, one of whom was armed with a handgun. The supervisor told investigators that she was in the process of closing the supermarket when the perpetrators entered through an open door. The armed perpetrator struck her face with the handgun, causing a minor laceration, and relieved her of the gold chain she was wearing around her neck. Meanwhile, his accomplices relieved the 51-year-old labourer of his cell phone. The perpetrators then proceeded to the cash register and retrieved an undisclosed amount of Guyana currency before making good their escape. Detectives are reviewing CCTV camera footage as the investigation continues. Related Similar Articles