Dear Editor,
“Mobilize Guyana to exorcise Exxon. Do it, boss. Sincerely, GHK Lall” (SN 8.10.23.) It is not unusual for the uneducated to use words without a full understanding of their meanings, we can hardly categorize GHK thusly, and some consider him Guyana’s finest wordsmith even when disagreeing with his content. Therefore his use of the word ‘exorcise’ deserves examination, the verb is defined as “drive out or attempt to drive out (a supposed evil spirit) from a person or place” (Oxford).
For context, GHK’s letter focused on President Ali’s recent expression of frustration with those who call for renegotiation of the Guyana/Exxon Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). Lall like others who do not have the burden of leadership, speaks freely “Renegotiation is war”, “Renegotiation is a long haul and long slog endeavor” without offering anything concrete as a starting point. It is simplistic sloganeering based on ignorance (feigned or otherwise) of the massive returns Guyanese will reap from the Exxon/ CNOOC/Hess investment in the waters 190 KM off of our shores. GHK Lall wants President Ali to mobilize Guyanese to drive out Exxon, here’s why we should not ever contemplate such idiocy.
When the PSA was signed in 2016, the price of oil was $30 a barrel, a ten-year low, the PSA envisioned heavy investment in drilling and production, then a 15-year period of cost recovery for three wells producing 360,000 barrels daily; today the price of oil is $92 a Barrel and we are looking at ten wells producing 2M Barrels per day with a full payoff of investment cost by 2030. It is a remarkable bit of good fortune as it means by 2030 Guyana stands to earn 90M USD Plus per day which is USD 33 Billion Plus per annum! Exorcise what???
Guyanese should be aware that if we succeed in ‘driving out Exxon’ we can rest assured that no other operator would be allowed in Stabroek block until the resultant litigation is settled and investors regain confidence in Guyana as a stable partner. We are talking about decades or never if green technology catches up with green dreams.
Editor, Guyanese should be cognizant of these numbers when listening to the men and women who say ‘renegotiate’, for renegotiation without reason is a form of nationalization and leads to instability and loss of investor confidence; such persons have caused the collapse of the bauxite industry when they presumed wrongfully that Rusal could not do without our ‘special’ grade of bauxite; the same voices are at it again, barking like empty barrels at the goose that lays golden eggs, with no thought to the very real consequences such action would bring down on our heads.
There will be no exorcism, No Siree Bob! Not on my watch.
Sincerely,
Robin Singh
