…urge prudent management of resources

By Tamica Garnett
REPRESENTATIVES of Guyana’s two main umbrella trade union bodies – the Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) – have hailed the announcement of first oil and urged the country’s leaders to manage prudently, the resource, which they say can transform this nation.

President David Granger, on Friday night, made the announcement and also indicated that December 20, will be declared National Petroleum Day. Since the announcement, Guyanese have been jubilant, with many taking to social media to celebrate the momentous occasion.
“The GTUC is extremely happy. This, in simple terms, is saying Guyana will be even wealthier, there will be more recognition and respect… [it] will open the doors for many more investors. Guyana will be able to compete with other territories within the Caribbean and further afield,” shared Coretta McDonald, President of GTUC. “Guyanese will be able to live that life that we have all been yearning for. More job opportunities, this will also spark a boom in other sectors. It’s means that our education, health and other services will be world class.”

Similar sentiments are shared by FITUG. “We are very much upbeat about it, we have been talking. There have been efforts to explore oil in Guyana so long and they all proved unsuccessful in being able to extract oil in Guyana in commercial quantities. This will be a real change in the life of the Guyanese people and it should reach down to the bottom of the Guyanese people and uplift thousands of people out of poverty,” shared, FITUG Vice-President, Komal Chand.

First oil, the first cargo of oil from the Liza-one well, had initially been expected in the first quarter of 2020, however, last October it was first announced that ‘first oil’ would most likely come in December, more to it, even before Christmas, just days away. The Liza Phase one project will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day at peak rates utilising the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel. Liza Phase one is expected to generate over $7B in royalties and profit-oil revenues for Guyana over the life of the project.

For McDonald, first oil signifies more than just economic opportunities for Guyanese, but brings about a patriotic pride amongst Guyanese that would see us putting our differences aside, perhaps much like we do at cricket time.

“We expect that the drawing down of oil will create the opportunity to foster unity amongst our people,” McDonald said. Since oil find was first announced, the trade unions have not left out their voice in their hopes and expectations for the use of the massive resources expected from the industry, and suggestions on where it should go.

Both McDonald and Chand stressed the need of prudent management of the sector. “It depends on the management, it depends on the legislation, it depends upon the rights we have. We have to be able to put all of this together and know and see the management, how well it will be managed to ensure that we don’t have the sad situation as we see in some countries,” Chand, who is also president of the Guyana Agricultural Workers Union, warned.

McDonald highlighted that all Guyanese should be able to see the benefits of this industry.
“With oil, over time we will see the eradication of poverty. Our concerns are the management of the finances which would have been received from sovereign wealth funds, management of the operations, and arrangements to deal with oil spills and its consequences. Our deals for future contracts. The system that will be used to ensure that every citizen receives a direct benefit from the proceeds,” she said.

For their part, the opposition said ExxonMobil’s announcement that oil production has started from the Liza field offshore Guyana is testimony to the visionary leadership of the late Janet Jagan, former President of Guyana. Guyana started oil exploration long before Mrs. Jagan came on the scene.

The party said under the former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government, it was Janet Jagan who moved to engage the oil company and signed the initial contract in 1999. Earlier this year, President David Granger has pledged to “ensure that the revenues which accrue from the [oil and gas] sector will not be squandered but, instead, will be invested strategically in building human and institutional capacity, addressing our infrastructural deficit and providing economic security for future generations.”

Towards that end President Granger has dubbed the next 10 years as the “Decade of Development for Guyana”. Guyana’s oil and gas management is currently being handled by the Department of Energy, headed by Dr. Mark Bynoe. As it pertains to the direct impact of oil and gas on the unions’ operations, McDonald sees the need for growth in the sector to correspond with the new labour demands of the developing Guyana.

“For the unions under the umbrella of the GTUC, they are the ones that will see and experience changes in their operations – positive changes. There will be a swell in membership thus making us stronger. There is need for more training opportunities within the unions and it is against this background that the GTUC will see changes in its operations,” McDonald notes.

Notwithstanding the excitement around first oil after the four year wait since 2015, Guyanese would still need to remain patient even as the process continues. Monies from this production are not going to be flowing in Guyana in 2019 until certain processes are out the way. Exxon Mobil, HESS and its third partner CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, will first have to be paid their share before revenues come to the government. Dr. Bynoe had also stated that the department is aware of the risk associated with not getting this right which is why industry-standard documents based on the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators Crude Liftment Agreement is being applied.