…Gas pains
Seems there’s no end to the troubles Trotman inflicted, not just on Guyana, but on even his Cabinet colleagues — with his bumbling venality on the oil and gas contract he “renegotiated” with ExxonMobil in the Stabroek Block. Ever since the cover was blown on the peanuts he accepted as a “bonus” on the 3.5 billion bbl of oil and counting, it’s been nothing but damage control.
After the giveaway on the oil, it’s becoming clearer every day that the situation on the gas is even worse! The Minister of Public Infrastructure’s been given the task of yanking Trotman’s size six shoes out of his mouth. You know what they say about shoe size! But Trotman so loves to keep his mouth pursed, it’s almost impossible!! First of all, even Trotman couldn’t change the fact that the contract was a “Production Sharing Agreement”. Meaning Guyana keeps ownership of the oil and gas and SHARES A PERCENTAGE WITH THE OPERATOR – here ExxonMobil.
Now who in their right mind would give the Operator the “right” but not the “obligation” to process the gas after it uses whatever it needs to generate power for its FPSO and inject back into the field to push up more oil and gas? Trotman did; so we know he wasn’t in his right mind. Prospects of engorged bank accounts does have a tendency to make folks bassidy!! As everyone — even consumers — knows, ever since the US started exploiting its shale reserves, the market for petroleum gas has collapsed. Ask TT about it!! They were the US’ biggest supplier of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) until the US burst THAT bubble! From being an importer, it became the biggest supplier of LPG to the world — even as the price fell to less than ONE QUARTER of its old price.
So what Trotman allowed Exxon to do with its “right but not obligation” is to enter the gas market if prices were to rise. In the meantime, it’s off the hook since Trotman gave it five years to submit a development plan for gas – while it pumps oil in two!! And unlike what Patterson’s said, Exxon doesn’t have to bring the excess gas to our shore from the FPSO. And not so incidentally, Exxon isn’t giving gas FREE at that point – we OWN all the oil and gas!!
Now Patterson should know that a pipeline from a hundred+ miles off shore plus a liquification plant don’t come cheap. We’re talking about BILLIONS in US dollars!! And with our market for LPG being so small, we’ll have to export the excess?
With markets being primarily China and India…how will we ship it?
…unguarded cemeteries
Some may say derisively that Town Clerk Royston King is full of “it”, and from the report on his latest initiative, he seems determined to confirm those accusations. Imagine, the man proposed to have guards placed at the Le Repentir Cemetery. No…he wasn’t daft enough to try to justify that move by claiming he was protecting the good citizens of Georgetown from “jumbies”. For that he’d have to bring in the “Jumbie Busters”- of which Guyana has plenty. They call themselves “obeamen”!
No…King said he was guarding against desecration of the tombs and such like IN the cemetery. Now your Eyewitness doesn’t have anything against the dead; but as someone who has need to be in Georgetown EVERY day, he wishes the Town Clerk would deploy some more Town Constables to guard against the desecration of the living!! And he’s not even talking about things like robberies and holdups.
What else but “desecration” would you call what goes on at the bus park??
…Granger’s judicial pick?
Why is anyone surprised President Granger ignored his expert panel’s recommendation for the Chancellor’s position based on experience, legal knowledge, management skills, etc?
That’s just their perception against the President’s. And we know whose perception trumps!!