The plummeting oil prices worldwide would see Guyana getting less than the expected US$300 million for this year but if the APNU+AFC government had negotiated for better royalties it would have cushioned the lost sums, says Dr Jan Mangal, the former Petroleum Advisor to President David Granger.
“If our government had negotiated a fair royalty of say 15%, versus the current value which is less than 2%, then we would still be getting about US$250-300 million in the first year even with the crash,” Mangal said on Thursday.
“This is why royalty is so important to countries like Guyana,” he added.