Guyanese only want what benefits and secures from their oil

May 21, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – We believe that we have good grounds to speak out against what has happened, and continues to happen, with our oil wealth. We are neither anti-oil nor anti-oil companies. To emphasise our position, we are pro-oil and pro-oil companies, but only when Guyana gets the most, the absolute best, that is possible from this endowment for Guyana and all Guyanese.
Other Guyanese are of the same outlook, which is what emerged from a recent article in The Guardian. It was titled, “‘We can’t eat a new road’: Guyanese voice fears over true cost of Exxon’s oil bonanza” (The Guardian -May 12). We agree, but while the caption of the story is arresting, the strapline is what should register more alarmingly with Guyanese, regardless of where they stand with oil.
It is said that “Multibillion-dollar deal promising to lift country out of poverty may be a false dawn with dire impact on climate, campaigners warn.” A “false dawn” is fake news, all huff and puff, petering out to nothing. The first warning is that there is a chance that we could remain poverty-stricken, despite the huge upside possibilities of these massive oil finds. The second alert is that Guyana could transform into a damaging climate contributor (from “carbon sink to carbon bomb”), and all because of production activities that left too many unknowns, and too much unaddressed and unremedied, to give the peace of mind that this oil is a net plus for this society.
Too much that is problematic and concerning has been left untouched by leaders in power, and by the oil companies with whom we do business. ExxonMobil is the face and voice of those foreign oil companies present in Guyana, and exploring, producing, and shipping this oil. Regarding the company itself, a noted Guyanese environmentalist was unsparing: “I can only judge Exxon by my direct and deeply personal relationship with them so far. They are not an honourable company.” Those are strong words and they come from Environmentalist Annette Arjoon, who also called the company’s behaviour “thuggish and disrespectful.” Ms. Arjoon noted that she grew to believe that Exxon was indifferent to the dangers of an oil spill relative to the Amazonia area. Somebody has been forced to put the company’s leadership to the sword, and in the sharpest terms possible.
ExxonMobil has earned every denouncement, every curse, heaped upon it by furious Guyanese. The company’s record is rancid and sordid, even though it is only a few short years old. It has exploited a weak and naïve government to land a most prospering contract for itself, while leaving a poor Third World country in a most economically disadvantageous position. Over and over again, we have been compelled to say that ExxonMobil is not a partner to be trusted, a company to be worked alongside with, a presence that should be here exploiting our oil.
It has done poorly for us, ripped us off, menaces our environment, and already negatively impacted the livelihoods of some of our Guyanese brethren by its oil operations. One fisherman said that “since the drilling started, the fish have gone. It is all the drilling and blasting.” And, he continued, “it never used to happen. People aren’t stupid. I’ve been fishing for 40 years, and it’s never been like this before.”
What price this oil, with our contract killing us, our environment in possible peril, and our fisherfolk staring at the bread line, and the disruption in their lives. For their part, the Guyana Government’s position is that there is no evidence of drop in fish catch from Exxon’s oil works, while Exxon’s stated first priority is to ensure that all necessary mitigations are in place. Even Guyana’s Central Bank weighed-in that “Oil and gas activities have not been included as potential factors” in falling fish catch.
The fishermen are disbelieving and dismissive, with one angrily retorting “are you…crazy” (expletive deleted)? Still other Guyanese think that the oil “can end up being more a curse than a blessing” (Guyana’s Transparency Institute), and “it’s about…how you govern the management of the oil industry” (Vincent Adams, former Guyana EPA head). The unsettling aspects of this is that amidst the boom, there is this gloom.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News