Marcelle Thomas

Even with favourable markets, large scale mining of minerals here has suffered major setbacks due mainly to health restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and this has left hundreds without work.

After glitches during production startup saw flaring of over 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas,  ExxonMobil has assured that it will from this week begin transitioning to using the gas for well injection purposes, Head of the Environment Protection Agency Dr Vincent Adams says.

Government’s billion-dollar expenditure on the decrepit Ocean View Hotel to construct a COVID-19 hospital has attracted the scrutiny of Auditor General Deodat Sharma and a local transparency group even as the current owner Jacob Rambarran maintains silence on the terms of the controversial deal.

While the mining fraternity is pleased with the current high world market price for gold, some miners say that due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions and other factors they have been unable to maximise production.

The closure of this country’s international airports as part of the measures to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has severely affected Ogle Airport Inc.

Although Guyana’s next oil lift is expected in May, around the same time the Department of Energy (DE) projects that maximum production of 120,000 barrels of oil per day will be reached, revenues will likely be far below the US$55 million received for the first million barrels given the current market conditions.

Guyana’s next lift of a million barrels of oil is expected in May, around the same time the Department of Energy (DoE) projects that the 120,000 barrels of oil per day maximum production will be reached, but revenues received would likely be far less than the US$55M for the first lift given the current market conditions.

Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield yesterday proposed a 156-day-long recount of ballots from the disputed March 2 general and regional elections, which the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) defended even as most of the contesting parties dubbed it unacceptable.

Australian gold miner Troy Resources has been fined $1 million by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the spillage of some 5,000 litres of fuel at its Karouni, Region Eight worksite and it has been ordered to pause works to emphasise safety measures.

President David Granger should exert his leadership and ensure that there is a recount of ballots and should take an example from the late President Desmond Hoyte and reach out to the PPP/C to work together, says former PPP/C Finance Minister and veteran politician Asgar Ally.

The two-week closure of Guyana’s two main airports to international passenger traffic as part of the response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has resulted in at least one business reducing staff as they anticipate a steep dip in income.

Starting with Region Four, the recounting of ballots from the hotly disputed March 2 general and regional elections should begin this afternoon under the supervision of a high-level CARICOM team.

Six parties, including the opposition PPP/C, have rejected the unverified regional results released by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for Region Four and yesterday called for both the international community and the local citizenry to stand against any attempt by the incumbent APNU+AFC to re-claim government based on the announcement.

As the sod was turned yesterday for a US$100M investment on 20 acres of land at Ogle, NICIL announced that it was only part of a grand “City of Ogle” project spanning some 800 acres going all the way to Lusignan.

United States-based Guyanese businessman Edmon Braithwaite is behind the US$ multimillion dollar Hilton Hotel at Ogle and other investments here and he believes that diaspora input in ventures ensures the holistic development of Guyana.

The Global Witness report that shows Guyana has potentially lost US$55 billion from the oil deal with ExxonMobil would have been more effective if it was released after the March 2nd general elections as it could have been used to pressure whichever government wins in its dealings with the oil major, thus helping shape public policy.

Assuring voters that they would never join APNU+AFC or the PPP/C  for government positions but will work for unity, the three small parties which have joined their lists in a ground-breaking move yesterday set out how they would share any seats won at the March 2nd general elections.

With Guyana set to receive unprecedented revenues as a result of the start of oil production, constitutional attorney Professor Harold Lutchman says it is imperative that citizens push for power sharing or lose out to foreign companies.

Former Chief-of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Mark Phillips says he was inspired to join the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and serve as its prime ministerial candidate after witnessing what he calls the current government’s disregard for the constitution of Guyana and the rule of law.

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is actively participating in the ongoing audit of the US$460 million in pre-contract costs claimed by ExxonMobil and its co-venturers and is working to have a 24-hour presence on offshore oil operations and closed-circuit television access as it yesterday promised strict tax oversight of the petroleum sector.