Marcelle Thomas

-argues that approval for Liza Phase 1 defective -sees need for slowing down of Exxon’s planWith less than two years to first oil, former Government Advisor on Petroleum, Dr Jan Mangal says the number of  oversight personnel has to be swiftly  ramped up to monitor the current operations and  before ExxonMobil is given approval for its Liza Phase 2 Development Plan.

Facing questions from a parliamentary committee, ExxonMobil yesterday denied that it was funding any political party or political initiatives in Guyana.

Following the discovery of a number of safety infractions, the aircraft which crashed shortly after take-off in Cuba last Friday, leaving 110 persons dead, had been grounded by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) last year.

Even as he sought to assure taxpayers yesterday that they are getting value for money on the US$150 million Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion project, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson said an additional $346.5 million in supplementary funding is being sought for to see the project to completion.

Three companies, including two regional conglomerates, have expressed interest in taking over the shuttered Wales, West Bank Demerara sugar estate in a deal that is expected to see the development of significant agro-processing operations here.

Twenty-three Guyanese, including a doctor, have been working on a drill ship contracted to ExxonMobil for oil operations and yesterday the company flew seven journalists to the site for a firsthand look at operations.

Residents of Barama, Region One are bemoaning the three-month closure of the Yakishuri Aerodrome by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) as the Barama River is dry and their access to health care and other services has been severely hindered.

Rejecting suggestions of any conflict of interest because he was once a director of a locally-registered oil company, the Deputy Director of the Petroleum Directorate Nicholas Chuck-A-Sang says qualified Guyanese in the sector should be encouraged to serve their homeland without concerns that they will be influenced by their former employers.

  Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for last year was 2.1%, falling short of government’s projection of 2.9%, and the 2016 figure of 3.3%, Finance Minister Winston Jordan said yesterday.

If government believes or has evidence that there are illegalities in ExxonMobil’s and partners’ operations offshore, it will make an impromptu visit despite the contract saying that the minister must give seven days’ notice, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman says.

Just weeks after they were shuttered, the Skeldon and Enmore estates will be reopened by the end of March and some cane cutters re-employed to demonstrate to potential buyers that the estates are viable and as such can be sold as going concerns, sources say.

With billions already gained on the stock market from its oil find here, ExxonMobil and its partners can “more than afford” to pay Guyana US$1 billion instead of the US$18 million received as a signing bonus, according to energy expert Dr Vincent Adams, who also strongly believes that the government should go back to the negotiating table for a better deal.

When Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge and his delegation meet with Indian officials this week, Georgetown will be taking up New Delhi’s  offer of support for the restructuring of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the sugar industry, Minister of State Joseph Harmon says.

The Caribbean Agricultural Research Development Institute (CARDI) plans to roll out a mega stock feed project this year using some 5,000 acres of land that it has been granted by government to set up a farm and factory, sources say.

Finding a process to expedite the over 300 cases that the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) is currently working on is high on its advisor Sam Sittlington’s agenda as he feels the delays are an injustice to both the people at the centre of the investigations and the police conducting it.

In a bid to secure molasses for its rum production, Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) has expressed interest in securing some assets of GuySuCo and sources close to the process say that its interest is in owning the Enmore Sugar Estate.

Government’s promise of small contractors accessing at least 20 percent of all state contracts may be one step closer to fulfillment as the Ministry of Business prepares to roll out a pilot of the project next month.

A recent US$5M investment in Trinidad by condiments and sauces producer, Baron Foods should have been Guyana’s venture but owner Ronald Ramjattan believes politics got into the way and he was forced to turn to the Twin-Island Republic.

Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin agrees with the Private Sector Commission’s (PSC) condemnation of the Guyana Power and Light Company’s (GPL) management which it says seems to hold no solution to a reliable power supply.

The Canadian chapter of the Alliance For Change (AFC) has pulled all support from the party, while saying that its backing of the unilateral appointment of retired judge James Patterson as the new Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) chairman was the ‘last straw’ after years of being sidelined.