ANNOUNCEMENT on Thursday by ExxonMobil that it has discovered another source of oil offshore Guyana could have the impact on Guyanese pinching themselves and asking the question, “is this fuh real?” The oil giant has discovered its fifth well at Turbot-1, adding to previous discoveries at Liza, Payara, Snoek and Liza Deep.
History will recall that exploration was conducted during the era of the Forbes Burnham Government and the result declared by the multinationals that were involved in the exercise was that Guyana does not have oil in commercial quantities. For years there have been lingering thoughts that the result was suspect and more reflective of serious political influences at the international level.
The alleged non-discovery of oil in commercial quantities occurred at a time when the price of oil in the international market had soared and purchasing of this commodity put a strain on foreign currency and what the society could produce and import, which ultimately had an adverse impact on the nation’s development in every sphere.
The oil and gas sector has always been an important element in a country’s development. It is to be treated as the primary energy resource in man’s day-to-day life, with a heavy reliance on it given that production of goods and services depend on it. Oil producing countries are known to be better able to develop a thriving manufacturing sector which enables them to compete effectively in the international market.
At the core of countries that produce oil, where properly managed, improvement can be seen in such areas as physical infrastructure (road, bridges, transportation, housing, etc.), education and health services, income, direct and indirect economic opportunities and disposable spending and taxes.

In this light, it is reasonable that had Guyana broken earlier into the sector and coupled with the economic self-determination pursuit, we could have been far ahead today. At the same time it cannot be ignored that in the Cold War era, a newly-independent nation that saw wisdom in advancing a non-aligned foreign policy agenda, forging and maintaining relations with both West and East based on national interest, would have made countries that shared a close relationship with the oil giants uneasy.
Oil and party/ideological politics intersect and are intertwined. And whereas the perception is held that the Cold War as we know it may be behind us, the politics of the sector and those who influence and could influence it, domestic and foreign, should not be ignored by politicians, governments and other stakeholders.

In addition to the positives this sector can bring there could be corresponding negatives when it is not properly managed and infrastructures such as laws, programmes and policies put in place to safeguard the environment, people and revenues that flow therefrom.
The society is saturated with expectations, be they real or hyped, that the sector can be a panacea out of underdevelopment. Such an understandable desire also risks ignoring that this would not be a magic bullet in planning around the fortunes of the country.
At the same time where the sector is set for production in 2020 and the expectation that ExxonMobil will submit its Local Content Plan by December, there exists the need to empower society, notably the stakeholders who will be relied on to supply the labour, facilitate business – private and public – protection of the environment and so forth.
In our society where politics has historically intertwined with race, geography, allocation of resources and sectional interest, our stability cannot be ignored in the presence of numerous global examples where such fragility has been preyed on at the expense of the country and the development of the people.
Glasnost and involvement remain the better, if not the best, approach to avoid socio-economic and political crises because as Guyanese fight among themselves, our wealth will be extracted and expatriated, not to our benefit.
The importance of a strong and independent judiciary, insulated from political and other influences cannot be over-emphasised. As deserving attention is being paid to the judiciary, similar attention should be placed on creating laws and new structures, such as industrial courts/tribunals and equal opportunity laws.
Exploiting this sector will undoubtedly see an influx of non-Guyanese who will bring unique cultures, and the possibility of regard or disregard for our laws, customs and practices. In the absence of regulations/laws and strong reinforcement, our way of life can be threatened, including our identity and developmental pursuit.
The task ahead could be daunting and it would be to the nation’s benefit in the presence of these discoveries not be complacent or over-enthusiastic with regard to the potential windfalls. We have to move purposefully to put systems in place to guard our national patrimony, environment, people and identity.