Don’t expect oil benefits for a few years – Govt. warns

The new administration is upbeat about the significant find of oil by US exploration company, ExxonMobil, but warned yesterday that benefits will take a few years to come.

President David Granger, Alliance for Change Executive Member Rafael Trotman and Minister of State within the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon with the crew of the ExxonMobil drill ship.

Following Wednesday’s announcement by ExxonMobil, President David Granger yesterday led a team on a visit to the drilling ship, the Deepwater Champion, which is operating 120 nautical miles offshore Guyana. For years now Guyana has been talking about finding oil with its neighbours drawing down the black gold from their wells. However, two offshore attempts in recent years have come up empty, until this one by ExxonMobil. According to a Government statement of the President’s visit yesterday, the recent discovery of hydrocarbons, which indicates the presence of oil, would open enormous possibilities for Guyana from the likely windfall. “We are one of the Guianas, and it is a rich part of the world, in terms of rainforest, current, minerals, so I am glad that we have opened the door; I am glad that you are a part of opening the door for us,” the President said of the US company’s find. Granger reiterated his earlier commitment, prior to assuming office, of the creation of a

President Granger being briefed yesterday on the operations of ExxonMobil’s oil rig, the Deepwater Champion.

Sovereign Wealth Fund which will hold the proceeds of revenues from natural resources and which will go towards benefitting the people of Guyana. Meanwhile, Minister of State in the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, who was also on the trip, noted the level of enthusiasm on the rig itself because of the finding. He also assured that Guyanese will not be excluded from whatever wealth comes out of the venture. “We believe that good days are ahead for Guyana,” Harmon said. According to the statement, the Minister cautioned that “the time between an announcement and the use of that facility could very well be a couple of years.” Harmon stressed that the US company is very “bullish” about what they have found and remains confident that they have necessary investments to fully develop the well so that oil can be pumped. He said that Government is satisfied that ExxonMobil is doing what needs to be done and, whatever happens will redound to the benefit of the Guyanese people. “Guyanese people can all be assured that whatever comes out of the sovereign wealth of

ExxonMobil’s oil rig, the Deepwater Champion anchored in the Stabroek block, 120 miles offshore Guyana.

this nation… that they will be part of it; that they will benefit from it.” Also present was Alliance For Change executive member and former House Speaker, Raphael Trotman. ExxonMobil, on Wednesday disclosed that it has found a deposit of a “significant’ amount of oil in the Stabroek Block.  The company said this discovery was made in one of the two wells it dug, in the Liza-1 drill site which realised more than 295 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone. In the released statement, President of ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Stephen Greenlee,  said, “I am encouraged by the results of the first well on the Stabroek Block…over the coming months we will work to determine the commercial viability of the discovered resource, as well as evaluate other resource potential on the block.” According to the oil company, the well was “spud” on March 5, 2015. The well data will be analysed in the coming months to better determine its potential. The drilling, started under the previous administration, was almost a no-start after neighbouring Venezuela objected to ExxonMobil’s presence in the area. Venezuela is claiming a huge swath of Essequibo, including a part of the international waters. The situation had seen ExxonMobil refusing to back down, saying that it has an agreement with Guyana and not Venezuela. Guyana has insisted that a Venezuela’s claim on a part of Guyana is null and void as it has been settled years now. Guyana’s other oil search attempts have not been without problems. In 2000, Surinamese gunboats ejected a rig hired by Canadian-owned CGX Energy with that country claiming it was in their waters. However, Guyana had taken the matter to the world body, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) which made an award in 2007, allowing CGX to carry on its business. CGX well did not find oil in commercial quantities in the Berbice offshore concessions and a partnership in the Georgetown area with Spanish-owned Repsol also did not fare well. In 2013, Venezuela seized the RV Teknik Perdana vessel which was doing work for Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Inc. Venezuela claimed that the ship was in its waters. Guyana had refuted this, accusing Venezuela of bullying and threatening its security. A significant portion of foreign exchange spent by the country is on oil.