An unconscionable contract can never be final (Pt 1)

Dear Editor,
The headline that caused me grave dismay was: “Exxon Contract – Final – Harmon”; published on February 23, 2017. On reading the headline, several thoughts overcame me: President Jagan would have absolutely rejected this contract; President Burnham would have never given away our birthright; Walter Rodney would never go against the people.
I felt betrayed and furious; what arrogance, how bull headed can we get; we are being treated like plantation workers. Guyanese did not give any politician or party the right to dole out 6.6 million oil rich acres of their country without sufficient compensation; thus, whether or not the coalition administration assigned a minister with plenipotentiary power to act on behalf of the cabinet, there is still the requirement of approval from the legislative branch, the budget process, or some such similar mechanism.
On what basis can Minister Harmon contend that the Exxon Contract is final? Merely because Minister Trotman signed a Petroleum Agreement? It takes more than one stump to make a wicket. Can the President or his aide/minister sign away any of our counties: Berbice, Demerara or Essequibo, to Exxon and say the contract is final without even having the approval of Parliament?
And if they did have parliamentary approval, would that make it legal and proper?
The coalition party is caught running downhill; it is afraid to stop for fear of falling or admitting errors. The party, led by its core leaders, continue running Guyana downhill while giving off an odour of pretence that something beneficial to Guyana is being done.
I do understand that politicians are inherently spokespersons for the inner power core of the political parties; now the core is prostrating to Exxon, our new overlords. We, the people, must push, force, request, and petition our political leaders to come out and speak with certitude and in an unfettered manner for the contract to be renegotiated.
I suspect, and daresay, ExxonMobil has its subsidiaries, affiliates and associates ensnared to varying degrees into the apparatus of our political parties and the upper echelons of our private sector. It is the way of Esso.
The members of a political party, with rare exceptions, adhere to the paramountcy of party decisions; thus party members invariably toe and support the party line, the support is not necessarily based on what is best for Guyana and Guyanese. It is not important that, in conforming to the party line, you support an imbecile agreement, utter stupidity, gross unfairness, nefarious conduct, racist decisions, economic sabotage, covering up of lies and incompetence, or covering up of mismanagement; or the breaking of promises or betraying of the Guyanese people to satisfy and largely benefit the upper hierarchy of the political party.
Where was the power to contract out our resources for a farthing constituted? Surely not from our legislative branch. What of the dismissed and shackled sugar workers? What of the deplorable conditions in Linden? What of the impoverished bauxite workers? What of the old age pensioners who receive a 100 United States dollars per month? What of our public servants, who are the lowest paid in the Caribbean? What of the poor state of our social services, such as health, water, education and security? What of the need for improved infrastructure? What of the extremely poor quality of life in the less travelled regions of Guyana? Were answers to the foregoing questions not considered when we signed the dotted line of the Petroleum Agreement?
This is a petroleum agreement of infamy, with a signature date on the agreement recorded as June 27, 2016; an agreement signed after it was known that the oil find of over 1.4 billion barrels had a crude oil value of over 13 trillion Guyana Dollars (1.4 billion * US$45.80 * FX Rate of G$210). Oil price on the day of infamy was US$45.80, on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) – Cushing, Oklahoma Exchange. On February 23, 2018, crude oil was priced at US$62.73, and the initial oil find at Liza 1 value was upwards of 18 trillion Guyana Dollars.
Oil findings in Guyana have now more than doubled, and using February 23, 2018 oil price from WTI, with the Ranger Well oil find included, the total value of oil found in Guyana offshore is conservatively valued at over 52 trillion Guyana Dollars (4 billion * US$62.73 * FX Rate of G$210).
How callow and unthinking it is to use a cut-and-paste contract approach after the oil has been discovered, with the first oil well out of the multitude being explored already giving us 1.4 billion barrels of oil. Could we not conduct ourselves as men and women of substance and negotiate for a fair share of our multigenerational fortune; and not act as servile hewers of wood and drawers of water?
Only we, the people, can free Guyana from the draconian agreement the behemoth called Exxon has signed with our ensnared leaders. We are now waiting on ourselves to act with courage, resilience, fortitude and perseverance to have this contract renegotiated.
We must address our minds and energies to rectify all oil contracts related to the 4,000,000,000-barrels-and-counting of oil in Guyana’s offshore that’s located in areas with high porosity and high permeability, resulting in top quality and low-cost oil reserves. We must leverage Guyana’s oil to ensure monetization of the oil find in a manner that Guyanese will have a fair economic share.

Sincerely,
Nigel Hinds