Dear Editor,
According to UN’s statistics, Guyana is ranked 238 out of 248 countries in the world in terms of population density. Of the 9 countries with less than 10 persons per square mile, only French Guiana, ranked 241 with 9 persons per square mile, has extensive rainforests as do Guyana and Surinam, both with a density of 10 persons per square mile. Guyana is already on a rapid trajectory of infrastructural development that must be continued to completion for the benefit of all Guyanese present and for generations to come. This short piece is about people, oil and responsibility.
Our Government should continue to ignore the strident calls of ‘save the planet’ activists both local and international, insofar as those calls relate to insisting that Guyana is under a duty to help in the attainment of climate change targets by stopping oil production. This view is wholly misconceived as it ignores both current fact and history that should inform us as to how to address current facts. That said, the ‘save the planet’ activists are nonetheless correct about the urgent need to drastically reduce greenhouse gasses, and with that in contemplation, I think that speed of production is of the essence as there is only a small window of opportunity within which to responsibly exploit fossil fuel resources.
Guyana can open this window to its very maximum given the fact that 87% of our land mass is covered by pristine rainforests, meaning that Guyana is and will remain a net carbon sink even when producing oil at optimum output level by the end of the decade. The window has effectively become bigger since the war in Ukraine which has triggered practical decisions in Europe, the UK and the US to issue licences to facilitate oil & gas and coal production that would not have been even considered in 2021. It is an historical truth that the developed nations of the world, whose people have for almost a century enjoyed the benefits of having the quality of infrastructure we now aspire to build, did so fuelled by a heavy reliance on oil – indeed continue to do so – and have also now legitimized the legitimacy of our oil policy by their renewed interest in exploiting fossil fuels, all in their own national interests, even as transition to renewables remains the ultimate goal.
The key here is to responsibly manage the exploitation of fossil fuel resources. Guyana is a net carbon sink – so no legitimate finger can be pointed at us about producing oil to lift our country, and by special trade and immigration arrangements our CARICOM neighbours also, out of the poverty we inherited when the umbilical cord of colonialism was severed. Without this boost from oil we would remain poor in spite of the vast amount of other natural resources our country possesses but could not hitherto afford to exploit efficiently. We must also learn the lessons of Trinidad & Tobago’s experience of some 6 decades’ dealing with oil companies.
Whilst we should certainly be grateful for the foreign investment that has put Guyana in our currently very enviable position, we should also head the warnings of the local ‘save the planet’ activists concerned about the real possibility of a major oil spill. Such an accident could directly impact the people of some neighbouring countries – and with the true extent of potential damage uncertain, it seems logical that unlimited insurance cover is the responsible provision, by whatever means necessary, once supported by legislation that either mandates or permits this. ExxonMobil asserts that it is executing its work in keeping with industry best practice and as such the risk is minimal.
That is exactly what we all want to hear – but no human being or authority can guarantee how minimal the level of risk could foreseeably be. ExxonMobil reported profits of $56Bn for 2022 and can surely afford the up-front premium for unlimited insurance cover. Moreover, under the generous cost recovery terms it has the contractual benefit of, ExxonMobil would recover insurance costs paid up-front anyway, thereby delaying arrival of the time when Guyana takes 50% of profit oil rather than our current 12.5% share. Perhaps it is that costly predictable outcome that the Government of Guyana is so reluctant to embrace.
Sincerely,
Ronald Bostwick
