Dear Editor,
I refer to Mr. Joel Bhagwandin’s letter dated 6-17, 2024 in which he claims the information I requested is in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Report. Not surprisingly, Mr. Bhagwandin’s answer is the usual ‘red herring’, in which he is once again attempting to divert attention away from the real issues I raised in my original letter dated June 12, 2024 (https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/06/12/opinion/letters/royalty-discrepancy-in-emgl-annual-report/) on the shortage of royalty payment as published in ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) Profit and Loss Statement (P&LS) 2023. (https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/locations/guyana/annual-report). In that P&LS, the total income reported was G$1,108,897,727,566.00 and royalty paid was G$21,922,725,604.00, a shortage of G$255,228,947.32. Editor, may I remind Mr. Bhagwandin that two percent of total income in Guyanese dollars or in US dollars must be equal, for it is simply basic math, as the exchange rate is the equalizing indicator.
The information in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Quarterly Report as of December 31, 2023 contains the total receipts of Profit Oil and Royalties in US dollars, which represent the total inflows received as Guyana’s share of Total Revenue in 2023. However, this Guyana share of Total Revenue is not disaggregated by the three owners in the oil business: EMGL 45 percent; HESS 30 percent, and CNOOC 25 percent. Evidence suggests that all three owners prepared separate financial reports; and since only EMGL and HESS have published their 2023 Financial Reports, an analysis of the information in the NRF cannot be completed at this time. Moreover, the details required in Table 1 in my letter of June 16, 2024 were only for the EMGL 2023 Audit Report; and it is therefore misleading for Mr. Bhagwandin to suggest that the NRF Report has disaggregated data for the EMGL, HESS and CNOOC.
Finally, in a country in which we have a wide selection of non-renewable resources (oil, gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese, other), a Table similar to the one prepared for EMGL in my letter of June 16, 2024 would be useful for understanding the extraction and sales of our mineral resources. Consequently, it is contended that starting with the EMGL 2023 financial report, and employing the elements and structure in Table 1, this will improve the management effectiveness of policymakers, even as it enhances the understanding of the oil sector for the in-terested Guyanese. So, Mr. Bhagwandin, get on board, make yourself useful for Guyana!
Sincerely,
Dr. C. Kenrick Hunte
Professor and Former Ambassador
