…on oil
Trotman’s been relieved of his oil responsibilities from his Natural Resource portfolio. Or so we’ve been told. It’s probably more like he’s been sequestered until the heat from his giveaway on the “negotiations” he conducted with Exxon.
But it seems he just can’t keep his mouth shut – which defeats the whole point about hiding him away from inquiring minds.
He just issued a statement about royalties and profit oil in the sharing of revenues in Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) that the previous Administration had signed. But once again, he’s “playing stupid” and not mentioning the critical difference between his signing and the previous Administration’s: OIL HADN’T BEEN DISCOVERED IN THE LATTER INSTANCES!!!
This makes all the difference in the world, doesn’t it? Before the oil strike, it was just a hope and a prayer by the Government of Guyana. In such a scenario – for a country like Guyana where explorations for decades had come up dry – it’s not surprising that the Government had to figuratively drop its pants!! But when Trotman sidled up to the table OIL HAD BEEN STRUCK!!
Plus if Trotman had done even his basic homework – as your Eyewitness has said before – he would’ve known Exxon had just written off their Russian reserves because of the newly-imposed US sanctions. They also had to write off their Canadian Oil Sands reserves because of environmental concerns. Now, reserves are literally the life-blood of oil companies: if these drop beyond a certain point, it signals production (and profits!!) also heading south! And in the meantime, the stocks of publicly-traded companies also plummet. While Exxon had jumped into shale oil in the meantime, they were salivating for a “world-class” oil find that would save their skins.
That’s what Trotman should’ve used as his leverage to get a better deal for us. There was no way Exxon would’ve walked away from such a find that was a hop-skip-and jump away from their Louisiana and Galveston refineries. But that wasn’t all. Not long after the strike was announced – almost simultaneously with the 2015 elections’ results (Coincidence?? Ha!!) – Chatam House arranged for Trotman, Jordan and their teams to fly over to Uganda, to learn how that country was dealing with oil after it was struck four years before.
Chatam House picked Uganda because rather than rushing ahead like Ghana, the Ugandans were bargaining hard to get the most bang for their oil. They ended up with a sliding royalty scale of up to 12.5 per cent and profit sharing of 65 per cent. Not to mention 30 per cent income taxes of the oil company’s profits!
Now why after THAT, would Trotman drop his pants for Larwah??
…on Chronic’s bleeding
In the midst of the fracas that’s broken out over the firing of Hinds and Lewis from the Chronic, the Board of the latter announced the paper was now making a profit after years of bleeding red ink!! These people are so transparent: who doesn’t know this is just a diversion?? The Board, first of all, is now composed of rump elements that have no backbone to have gone along with the nonsense that the EIC wasn’t pressured to be the hatchet man???
Now for their claim of profitability. In the past, the Chronic – whose circulation has now dropped to a literal handful – used to be kept alive by direct transfusions of cash from the Consolidated Fund. Now it’s done by giving them scads of ads EVERY DAY – which they don’t deserve since it’s just like whispering in the middle of a forest!! No one gets the message!!
But this latest feint by the AFC (the remaining Board members are from that party) to remain relevant won’t work.
All Guyana can smell the stench of “Dead meat”!!
…on Police reform
The seawall shootings just raises the issue of what happened to the long promised “Police reform” by this PNC-led coalition?
Whatever happened to the British Security Reform plan by Russel Combe??
