Dear Editor,
I thought that SN’s Friday April 26th article had a huge typo (“Ramps, Exxon facing complaint that US$4.4m equipment declared as worth US$12.1b”). At US$12.1m, it would have been an approximate tripling of the real cost of the equipment. But it was not US$12.1m but US$12.1b, which is almost 3,000 times the actual cost of the equipment. Typo? Mistake? System glitch? Throwing all caution to the four winds? Let us look.
Editor, fellow Guyanese, okay, a mistake of some sort is made in going from 4.4 to 12.1. Those keys are not adjacent to each other on the keyboard. To intensify the grave misgivings with the issue, the failure was not limited to numbers, but extended to letters of the alphabet. The m (millions) became a b (sticking Guyana with billions) since November 2024, some five months ago. Indeed, human error does occur. The reality, however, is that the Baker Hughes and Technip FMC invoice(s) would have been entered into Exxon’s worldclass accounting books/system (Mr. Alistair Routledge so described it) via some sophisticated scanning programme, some computer-to-computer conversation.
The first question is what the hell went on there? The second: was this really an error? Third: is this why billions in expenses are a secret to be kept away from the people who own the wealth? The people who feel the deep pinch of 75% of their oil revenues going from the top to pay back Exxon. Ramps Logistics had run into trouble with the GRA back in 2021. It is a trusted partner and proxy for Exxon. One would have thought that the company would keep its nose above water. In its defence, Ramps shared the details of the source of its customs declaration, which came from Exxon KABAL system. In other words, Ramps is merely the intermediary, nothing but a transmitter of what came from Exxon’s KABAL machinery. I think that it is a well-chosen name, for it says so much about what goes in it, who controls it, who is near it, and who hides some of its output from the eyes of Guyanese. Why was Exxon in need of an additional two weeks (three, in effect, when only business days are counted), when it was already written to over five weeks ago on March 18th? What justification can there be for a declaration about equipment that costs US$4.4m but takes wings and soars to US$12.1b?
I am thankful to the GRA, and all Guyanese should be, for its vigilance and integrity in identifying this matter, flagging it, then pursuing it. I still harbour the forlorn expectation that PPP Government leaders around this enticing oil sector would develop some strain of that same alertness and ethics where expenses and Exxon are concerned. This is where the real money is, where the big fleecing of Guyana could be occurring at the hands of our trusted partners. I would consider Exxon to be one, when it proves that the best in honesty and honourable standards rule its relationship with Guyanese and their oil. There has been too much that is disturbing and ominous about Exxon. This declaration is one discovered and now part of the public’s awareness. From 4.4 to 12.1 is a big step, from US millions to US billions is stepping on the moon. Whodunit?
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
