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Jan 23, 2018 News
“Over the proposed 23 years of the ‘Liza 1 investment’ the sewage will add up to 1,410,360,000 gallons. Using ExxonMobil’s lower estimate of 800,000,000 barrels of oil Guyana will get 1.76 (1¾) gallons of sewage for every barrel of oil. That says more about ‘ExxonMobil’s investment’ than all of Minister Trotman’s pronouncements. So, why are we doing this?”- Malinda Janki
Melinda Janki has several questions for the Government of Guyana. Questions about the nation’s patrimony; about the ability of the politicians to actually protect Guyana from an oil giant like ExxonMobil and about what Guyana is really getting in return for all it has given to ExxonMobil.
Janki is an international lawyer who specialises in international environmental law and international human rights. But the concerns she expressed in one of the daily newspapers were not expressed by Janki, the lawyer, but as Janki the worried citizen of Guyana.
In her letter, Janki pointed to statements made by Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, stoutly defending ExxonMobil’s “investment” here.
“Minister Trotman claims that ExxonMobil is investing billions (of dollars) in Guyana. How so? Searching for oil is not investing in Guyana. It is searching for oil,” said Janki.
The lawyer noted that the World Bank recently warned that Guyana could end up subsidising any unsuccessful exploration by ExxonMobil. “So, money that should be for pensioners, sick people, homeless people, those who have lost their jobs, the defence of Guyana’s sovereignty, etc, could conceivably end up in the very deep pocket of the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas company.”
Janki also noted Trotman’s mantra that “Guyana should focus on what has been gained.” But she said that she is failing to see what is being gained.
Janki questioned if the gains being referred to by Trotman is the two percent royalty that the APNU+AFC government has secured. She noted that the Falkland Islands have negotiated nine percent royalty. “This tiny territory of 4,000 people will get 4.5 times as much as Guyana on every barrel of oil.”
Janki wondered if the gain could possibly be the US$18M signing bonus that the government surreptitiously received from ExxonMobil in 2016.
“Tarron Khemraj has made a convincing case as to why the signing bonus should have been US$238M. The paltry US$18M paid to Guyana is 0.0082 percent of ExxonMobil’s 2016 turnover. Has Guyana suddenly gone back to an era when tribal peoples transferred vast wealth to colonial adventurers in exchange for glass beads and mirrors?”
Janki then turned her attention to the promises being made.
“Minister Trotman is promising per capita wealth beyond imagining and some cooking gas in every house once Government pays (that means Guyanese citizens’ money) for the gas pipeline. How much per capita wealth will go to the citizens of Guyana? How much will go in secret payments?” she questioned.
Also, Janki asked, “Where is the evidence that Minister Trotman can safeguard Guyana’s interests? Can Minister Trotman ensure that there is no inflation of costs in order to keep profits down? How much tax will Guyana get?
“Remember the US$74 billion fine that Chad imposed on ExxonMobil for tax avoidance? How much income tax will the expatriate employees pay? Or is it only the Guyanese businesses and workers who struggle to build up Guyana have to pay tax?”
Janki said that the one thing Guyanese can be sure of getting is sewage, 4,000 barrels of it every day. “Over the proposed 23 years of the ‘Liza 1 investment’ the sewage will add up to 1,410,360,000 gallons. Using ExxonMobil’s lower estimate of 800,000,000 barrels of oil Guyana will get 1.76 (1¾) gallons of sewage for every barrel of oil.
That says more about ‘ExxonMobil’s investment’ than all of Minister Trotman’s pronouncements. So, why are we doing this?”
Essentially, Janki pointed out that ExxonMobil is not investing in Guyana; it is investing in itself, as only the company will record true rewards.
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