…PM, others hail start of oil production as opportunity for Guyana to realise full potential
Nagamootoo: “There has to be one coalition, one alliance, one partnership with one, united leadership”

By Navendra Seoraj
AMERICAN oil giant, ExxonMobil has made its first lift of crude offshore Guyana, a lift that has not just raised the crude from underwater but one that also lifted Guyana from economic bondage.

“Congratulations Guyana! With first oil, Guyana has burst forth from economic bondage, and asserts freedom to realise her enormous potential for prosperity and greatness. When the oil economy begins to grow the soil economy, sweet oil will blend with fertile soil to realise the El Dorado Dream. This is Guyana’s magic moment,” said Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, in his message on the occasion of “first oil,” on Friday. Guyana is now an oil-producing nation due to the efforts of ExxonMobil, which will go down in history as the first company to pump oil for commercial purposes here.

TRANSFORMATION
“For Guyana to take the big leap forward under coalition leadership, the time has come for qualitative transformation in the form and structure of executive authority. There has to be one coalition, one alliance, one partnership with one, united leadership. The partners have to invest trust in its leadership, and embrace principles on which decisions have to be based, when made,” PM Ngamaootoo said.

He added that since resigning from the PPP, he has met and embraced young, visionary and committed leaders in the Coalition on whose shoulders would be the duty to take Guyana forward. “In the new dispensation, they would need the Mujica quality to eschew narrow, personalised, self-interest for the nation’s good. I look forward to our future with optimism and confidence. The Guyanese people are embracing this development. They were preparing for December 20. They were busy cleaning up, sprucing up and decorating as if to receive a precious visitor. The shopping splurge was aided by what I saw as the back-pay bonanza, where public servants were given a tax-free, lump-sum as salary increases for 2019.”

In light of this feat, Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry joined Prime Minister Nagamootoo in wishing Guyana the best for the time ahead. She said, with proper management, the industry will take off and all Guyanese will benefit.
Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, said the new industry will create a brighter future for the people of Guyana, since he believes that the sector will be prudently managed and tailored to benefit every Guyanese and not the political leaders.
“It is something that we bring not for ourselves, but for the future generation so that they can have a good life…I believe it is a tremendous resource for us as Guyanese and we should make good use of the oil money so that all Guyanese can benefit from it,” said the mayor.

Confidence in government’s ability to efficiently manage the sector and ensure that it benefits Guyanese, was also shown by Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall, who said the right systems will be implemented to ensure there is transparency and equitable distribution of the benefits from the sector. He said the plan for such systems and measures will be revealed to the public when President David Granger announces the “Decade of Development.”

“President Granger’s heart is in the right place and he will ensure that the resources are equitably distributed,” said Marshall, adding that the “Decade of Development” will provide a guide for how the resource will be managed to benefit all Guyanese.
Among the benefits expected, is greater accessibility to the hinterland through the construction of better roads, bridges and other infrastructure, said the mayor. In the short term, he said, his municipality is looking forward to the construction of a bridge from Parika to Goshen and then one from Goshen to Bartica.

“We are also hoping for better connectivity between Bartica and Mahdia and by extension Lethem and other hinterland areas,” said Marshall.
Shining light on the potential prosperity and development, President Granger had described petroleum production in Guyana as a transformative process in the country’s economic development. The petroleum sector will stimulate increased employment and expand services, he said. According to the President, the APNU+AFC Government will unveil a ‘Decade of Development, 2020-2029’ plan, aimed at ensuring that petroleum resources will be utilised to provide the ‘good life’ for all.

The ‘Decade’ is a 10-year plan to intensify development and improve citizens’ quality of life, he said. He noted that every Guyanese will benefit from petroleum production. “No one will be left behind,” he said. President Granger noted that the Department of Energy was established to manage the country’s hydrocarbon resources. He said it is seeking the best advice, including international best practices as it builds the institutional, legislative and regulatory capability to manage this sector effectively and efficiently.
He also noted the establishment of legislation to regulate the sector. The Natural Resource Fund Act 2019 was passed by the National Assembly.
The Act provides for ensuring that the country’s resource wealth benefits both current and future generations; it incorporates oversight, accounting, reporting and auditing mechanisms to promote prudent, transparent and accountable management of oil revenues.

Guyana will lift its first cargo of petroleum produced at the Liza Destiny during February or March. This follows a handful of lifts by the Contractor Group, which includes ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC.

The order follows international conventions for a “fair” lifting order that goes by whoever has the next largest entitlement percentage at that time.

The government will have the largest outstanding entitlement to lift by February – though of course royalties will be paid on all of the earlier cargoes.

During all of these lifts and for all future lifts, the oil-lifting process will be monitored by both independent third-party auditors and two additional government representatives.
Last weekend, Director of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe , said that the first three cargo lifts of Guyana’s crude following ‘first oil’ will be up for direct sale to international traders who were expected in the country this week.
Through his department, Dr. Bynoe clarified misguided reports, by confirming that the country’s decisions are being guided by a full team of international experts, internal experts and the Guyana Public Procurement Commission (PPC).
Apart from HESS, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) holds 45 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a 25 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block.

It is estimated that there is over six billion barrels of oil equivalent in the oil-rich Stabroek Block, while the involved partners continue to see “multibillion barrels of additional exploration potential.”

ExxonMobil and its partners have racked up 14 commercial oil discoveries in the Stabroek Block, the last being the Tripletail-one exploration well located approximately three miles northeast of the Longtail discovery. The Tripletail discovery adds to the six billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The Liza Phase one project will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day at peak rates utilising the Liza Destiny FPSO. It is expected to generate over $7B in royalty and profit oil revenues for Guyana over the life of the project.
The Liza Phase one development project features the Liza Destiny floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel moored 190 kilometres offshore Guyana, and four subsea drill centres supporting 17 wells.

The Liza Unity, a second FPSO with a capacity to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day, is being constructed to support the Liza Phase two development. Front-end engineering design is underway for a potential third FPSO, the Prosperity, which is geared at developing the Payara field upon government and regulatory approvals.
The current discovered recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block is more than six billion oil equivalent barrels. It is anticipated that by 2025 there would be at least five FPSOs producing more than 750,000 barrels of oil daily from the Stabroek Block.

As a reminder of Guyana’s new dawn, President Granger declared December 20 as ‘National Petroleum Day.’ The President said: “the proclamation will remind Guyanese of our duty to protect the country’s patrimony and to ensure the sustainable management of finite hydrocarbon resources.”