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Pres. Ali raps CARICOM Member States for selfishness, failure to implement decisions – News Room Guyana
President Ali proposes linking Guyana and T&T manufacturing … | MENAFN.COM
https://menafn.com/1103288995/President-Ali-proposes-linking-Guyana-and-TT-manufacturing-sectors
Govt. overspending has wiped out oil earnings: Kaieteur News
…financial hole now being filled with borrowings —Jordan
With more than US$600M currently sitting in the Guyana Government’s Natural Resources Fund, former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan believes that these earnings over the two-year period since oil began production in December 2021, has already been eradicated by the cumulative budget deficits presented by the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration. A budget deficit occurs when expenses exceed revenues and indicate, generally speaking, the financial health of a country.
Guyanese benefited from more cash transfers than other Caribbean countries – World Bank report: News Room
Households in Guyana have received social transfers to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a new World Bank report has found that the cash transfers provided in Guyana were more than several other Caribbean countries. For context, social transfers (also called social benefits) are some form of assistance, either in cash or in-kind, provided to individuals or households; these are provided to ease any financial burden faced. The new report from the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is named: “An Uneven Recovery: The impact of COVID-19 on Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Guyana 2021 oil take is one million barrels less than expected: Kaieteur News
Guyana had earlier this year projected collecting at least six one-million barrels of oil lift entitlements under its Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL—and their Stabroek Block consortium partners. This is not to be, however, since on Monday last, it was announced that government had completed its final lift for the year—it’s fifth. According to Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat the most recent lift, also represents Guyana’s final lift of oil for 2021.
ExxonMobil’s Yellowtail project to drive up annual gas emissions by 30%: Kaieteur News
…claims Guyana’s forest will offset environmental impacts
The Non-Technical Summary (NTS) for ExxonMobil’s fourth project, the Yellowtail development, has revealed that greenhouse gases are set to increase by as much as 30 percent, throughout the production stage. According to the document, “Average emissions during production (is) estimated (to) range (between) 1,110 to 1,395 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent per year, (resulting in) approximately 24 to 30 percent increase in Guyana’s estimated GHG (Green House Gas) emissions”. Simply put, greenhouse gases are harmful emissions such as carbon dioxide that trap the earth’s heat and contribute to global warming or the warming of the planet.
Declining fish stocks deserves a real assessment, not another cheap shot at oil: Guyana Times (Letter to the Editor) by Donald Singh
I was disappointed at the recent story “Declining fish catch triggers worry among local fishermen.” The perspective of our fishermen is always valuable, but the piece is filled with half-truths and unverified claims. The story seeks to pin any and every decline in fish stocks on the oil industry. Fair enough, it’s an easy target, no one is likely to stand up and say oil is great for fish; but if we want to actually understand what is happening, we need a real assessment. Frankly, the Government should have done what every other country does, and conduct a comprehensive assessment of our fisheries decades ago.
Gov’t seems to be in a rush to approve Yellowtail though serious questions unsettled: Stabroek News (Letter to the Editor) by Darshanand Khusial on behalf of OGGN, www.oggn.org
On the weekend the government released an article stating that the Stabroek Oil Block is not up for renegotiation. It cited a number of reasons for its position including the sanctity of contract, the stability clause and because Exxon lost US$22 billion last year. The article reads like a marketing campaign for why Guyana should approve the Yellowtail project given the risks faced by Exxon and its partners. There are some serious flaws in the government’s arguments which raise the question about whether the government is acting on behalf of the oil companies instead of the people of Guyana.
‘Critics who say we will get nothing from oil sector reckless, uninformed’ – Bharrat: OilNOW
Since the emergence of oil and gas activities in Guyana, over GY$400 billion (US$2 billion) have been plugged into the economy and more than GY106 billion (US$534 million) have been received in oil revenue from exports and royalties. Additionally, hundreds of millions of US dollars are being invested by companies setting up operations in the country. Natural resources minister Vickram Bharrat told OilNOW that despite these gains he has taken note of critics who continue to say the country will not benefit from oil production and believes that such views are “uninformed” and “reckless”, to say the least.
Guyana, Brazil boosting Atlantic tanker market outlook: OilNOW
Hugo De Stoop, CEO of Euronav says the oil tanker market is likely to continue to improve despite renewed concerns over coronavirus threats, but a further recovery in freight rates is needed before the sector returns to good health. In a report on Monday, S&P Global Platts quoted De Stoop as saying that Concerns about the coronavirus may weigh on the extent to which demand for oil tankers will grow but there are no immediate prospects of a demand decrease or forced consolidation in the sector.
EPA developing remote monitoring system to keep companies in check: Guyana Standard
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Tuesday that it will soon launch a remote real-time monitoring system and platform to ensure those facilities that received authorization are in compliance with key environmental parameters. The EPA said this is being done by way of satellite services, installed sensors for air quality index, and other monitoring mechanisms. The EPA said, too, that it is in the process of bolstering its assessment capabilities by procuring modern measurement equipment/instruments and analyses tools to take accurate measurements, and to make credible assessments of impacts of pollutants in air, water, and land.
Baseline environmental studies for oil and gas activities underway: iNews
The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Natural Resources has received bids from several international firms to conduct the Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) baseline studies. According to last Thursday’s minutes at the National Procurement Tender and Administration Board (NPTAB), four companies submitted Expressions of Interest for the project. They include Asian Consulting Engineering; Institute of Environmental Bay Phase (Portugal); Strategic WW Consortium and Nemus.
Potential for increased oil production capacity at all Stabroek block projects: iNews
There is potential for all of ExxonMobil’s sanctioned and unsanctioned developments in the Stabroek block to produce oil exceeding their designed capacity. This was revealed during the virtual 2020 Q3 earnings Call of Hess Corporation, one of the co-venturers in the Stabroek block. Asked by an analyst to shed light on production optimisation options, the company’s president and chief operating officer, Gregory Hill, said that dynamic data gathered in the future would inform the company of the amount of scope there is from optimisation, and gave estimates based on his nearly four decades of experience in the industry.
Omicron pushes oil prices to three-month lows: OilNOW
(S&P Global Platts) NYMEX January WTI settled at $66.18/b, down $3.77, and ICE January Brent finished $2.87 lower at $70.57/b. Oil prices, which had stabilized Nov. 29 following a steep selloff in the prior session, slid overnight following comments from drug-maker Moderna’s CEO Stephane Bancel Nov. 30 stating that current COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against the omicron variant. On Nov. 29, the World Health Organization said the omicron variant poses a high global risk, and while emerging reports suggest it might not be as severe as initially thought, analysts nonetheless cautioned that more time was needed to assess the fallout.
Green Upheaval: The New Geopolitics of Energy
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