Oil
Exxon to get first oil lift: ExxonMobil will take the first three liftings of crude oil from the country’s huge offshore deposits and Guyana will receive its share in its ground-breaking petroleum endeavour beginning around March next year. While payment for its first portion from the Stabroek Block is therefore some months away, Guyana will immediately begin receiving the 2% royalty from the inaugural lifting. Projecting oil lifting volumes offshore at 1 M barrels intervals, Director of the Depart-ment of Energy (DoE) Dr Mark Bynoe last Wednesday assured that this country will have measures in place such as offshore third-party verification of quantities. It will also retain a marketing firm to sell its oil by the time of the first lift. The government and the DoE have been flayed for the sloth in putting arrangements in place for first oil considering the major offshore find in May of 2015. Key legislation such as that for the proposed Petroleum Commission and Local Content Policy are still to be passed amid a political and legislative impasse. While the inaugural lift is expected one month after first oil potentially in December, this country will wait until the fourth lift, projected in February or March next year, for its share. And following terms of the agreement pertaining to cost oil recovery and contained in a crude lifting agreement, Guyana will sell its share through an international marketing firm directly from the vessel using a Free on Board (FOB) arrangement.
Gov’t still to hire firm to audit Exxon’s pre-contract costs: The procurement process for a firm to audit the more than US$960 million ExxonMobil said it racked up in pre-contract costs here is nearly completed, Director of the Department of Energy Dr Mark Bynoe says. “The procurement process has not been completed so I cannot comment on same. I would be happy to revert… with requisite responses once that is completed, which we expect to be very shortly,” said Bynoe last week, in a response to questions from Stabroek News. Bynoe had last year said that this country lacks the capacity to audit pre-contract costs for oil recovery and had revealed that an international firm will be hired to aid both the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the State audit office, to discharge their obligations.
Elections
Persons with uncollected ID cards will not be struck from voters’ list: None of the roughly 19,000 persons who didn’t uplift their ID cards from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will be prevented from voting. This was confirmed on Friday at the inaugural press conference hosted by GECOM Chair Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh and followed concerns that they would be struck from the final voters’ list if they didn’t collect the identification cards. GECOM from yesterday published the names of the persons who have not collected their cards, in some cases since 2008. The list features registrants who will able to vote and are likely to be subject to “greater scrutiny” at the March 2 General and Regional Elections if they don’t collect their cards. The list is accompanied by an Order which directs that all persons whose names are listed need to be verified. These persons must personally appear at their closest registration office with a Guyana issued birth certificate or certificate of registration of a foreign birth or a valid Guyana Passport as well as any other supporting documents which may be requested by the registration officer before whom they appear. According to the order, by fulfilling this requirement on or before December 2, 2019 the listed individuals will be ensuring that their name is included on the final list of electors for the next General and Regional elections. Failure to satisfy this requirement will result in your name appearing in a special section of the Official List of Electors (OLE) on Elections Day. It had been previously reported that these persons would not be allowed to vote but Singh stressed that this is not the case.
Claims process concludes for 2020 elections: The claims aspect of the claims and objections process for the upcoming general and regional elections, which are slated for March 2nd, 2020, concluded last Monday evening. Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward told reporters on November 4th that as of Sunday November 3rd, GECOM Secretariat staff across the country had processed 5,636 new registrations, 14,474 transfers, 2,639 corrections and 2,400 identification card replacements during the exercise. They had also facilitated 651 updates of photographs. Objections will continue until November 11th. Up to last Monday, 500 objections have been received by registration staff.
Politics
Liberty and Justice Party votes against coalescing: The Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) has decided against joining with another party at the moment as it believes it is in the nation’s interest to have a “balancing” third force, according to Chairman and presidential candidate Lenox Shuman. The party has not closed the door on coalescing in the future although Shuman told a news conference on Thursday that a non-negotiable term of any potential coalition with the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) or A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) in particular, must be the opening up of the presidential and prime-ministerial posts to Guyanese of any ethnic group. Last month, Stabroek News had reported that Shuman had engaged in discussions with APNU about possibly coalescing. Shuman on Thursday said that Article 4.1 of the party’s constitution forbids coalescing unless it is in the country’s national interest and added that after a vote taken on Wednesday evening it was decided that the party would not be coalescing at the moment as “we and our supporters do not see that as in the country’s best interest because we believe that the country needs a balancing third, and we plan on being that balancing third.”
Mining
Troy Resources cleared to resume full operations: The way has been paved for Australian gold mining company, Troy Resources, to resume its operation here following clearance from the Ministry of Social Protection and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. However, the start date for operations lies in the hands of the company, Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally told Stabroek News last Thursday. She explained that the company has been given clearance to resume operations. Ally said the company has indicated that they are executing some works and when those are completed they will resume operations. She noted that no definite date for resumption was discussed. The company met with Ally on Thursday and related its position. “We have no problem with Troy Resources. It is up to them when they want to restart operations… but there has been no indication as to when they will,” Ally told this newspaper.
Aviation
Air Services launches Region Seven flights: Air Services Limited (ASL) on Friday launched scheduled flights to Region Seven. The flights, which will begin from November 12th, will operate every Tuesday and Thursday from Ogle to Kamarang, with connections to Imbaimadai, Phillipai, Chi Chi East, Chi Chi West, Paruima, Kaikan and Ekereku Bottom. The new service is expected to serve communities where the only means of getting to and from the coastland were chartered flights.
Eastern Airlines gets green light for G’town to NY route: Six months after an earlier application had been rejected by Cabinet, Eastern Airlines, formerly Dynamic Airways, has been given the green light to operate scheduled non-stop flights between the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York. This was disclosed on Friday by Minister of State Dawn Hastings-Williams. Hastings-Williams later told Stabroek News that the airline is expected to begin operations on December 8th. “To my knowledge, we [Cabinet] have received their application and [granted] the approval to have their services offered here,” she said. When contacted, Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Egbert Field said that the company has followed “due diligence and approval has been given to them to operate between Georgetown and New York.” Field noted that the company is no longer connected to Dynamic Airways and has followed international regulations and transitioned and restructured itself under new management.
Crime
Bushy Park peacemaker hacked to death: A Bushy Park, East Coast Demerara (ECD) farmer was brutally chopped to death on the night of November 2nd after he tried to calm a man who was allegedly on his way to attack another man. The dead man has been identified as David Micah called ‘Big Mouth’, 40, a farmer of Lot 9 Bushy Park, ECD. Police yesterday said that Micah’s attacker, a 20-year-old mason of Lot 1 and 2 Belmont, Mahaicony, has been arrested and is presently in custody assisting with the investigation. According to a statement from the police, the suspect while at ‘Goat Bar’, which is located at Cottage, ECD, was involved in an altercation with a patron. During the altercation, the patron dealt the suspect several slaps causing him to get angry. As a result, he rushed home and armed himself with a cutlass. He “was exiting his yard when he was confronted by the deceased who he [alleged] was armed with a knife and told him he will stab him up,” the statement said. It added that the suspect then dealt Micah several chops about his head, injuring him.
Driver charged with causing death after Onderneeming hit and run: Gordon Edghill, the driver who allegedly struck down and killed 40-year-old Vidur Anauge along the Adventure, Essequibo Coast Public Road last Monday night, was granted a total of $315,000 bail after being charged with two traffic offences on Friday. Edghill, 30, a welder of Lot 78 Onderneeming Sandpit, Essequibo Coast, is accused of driving motor car PXX 7706 in manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of Anauge on November 4th. He was also charged with failing to render assistance after the accident.
Business
Coconut venture for 700 acres of Wales Estate land: Approximately 700 acres of the shuttered Wales Sugar Estate has been leased to the newly formed Amazonia Expert Services Limited (AESL) which has expressed the intention to enter the coconut industry. Former Executive Director of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), Dr. Arlington Chesney, who is a principal in AESL explained to reporters last Monday evening that the company which is just about six weeks old intends to process coconut water and dried and grated coconut for a market in the Dominican Republic. “We have been given a lease for the land and we are in the process of getting a lease for the processing facility,” he noted, explaining that the current lease which is for 20 years in the first instance carries an option for renewal. Chesney further explained that contracts for the supply of coconut coir to the agricultural sector in southern United States have already been secured while greenhouses food production for oil drilling and exploration rigs that would include a “spin-off” relationship with local farmers is planned for the long term.
GPL
GPL board votes to rescind axing of Deputy CEO, HR Officer: By way of a majority vote, the Board of Directors of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) on Friday rescinded a decision to let go of the utility company’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Renford Homer and to terminate the services of Human Resources Officer Bal Persaud, a source said. On Thursday, Homer was given written notice of the decision not to renew his contract, while Persaud was notified of the termination of his services. A source said that while Homer’s contract ended in May, Persaud’s contract had not yet expired and was due to come to an end on the 31st of December, 2019. However, a majority of Board members met on Friday and voted for the rescinding of the decision. It was unclear what the way forward is and if the contracts will be renewed.
Death
Carl `Max’ Hanoman passes away: Veteran doctor Carl ‘Max’ Hanoman passed away last Wednesday evening at a private city hospital, even as he was preparing to leave the country for Trinidad and Tobago for further medical treatment. He was 72 years old. In 2016, Hanoman was appointed Chairman of the GPHC Board and had promised that patients would receive improved care and services and better attitudes from the staff, while expressing hope for cooperation among members. But only months into his chairmanship the Board was dissolved by then Minister of Education Dr. George Norton, following months of public disagreement over staffing decisions as well as other issues relating to the management of the institution. Friends and patients of the physician, who operated at his private practice at Lot 77 Brickdam, Georgetown, took to social media to express tributes, with many expounding on his kindness while other who worked with him hailed his contributions here.
