Latest on… Iran War

It’s been rather quiet over the weekend on our domestic political opposition front – which usually provides most of the grist for your Eyewitness’ mill in this column!! He rather hopes it’s because Eid was celebrated on Saturday! And after their month of fasting – or being respectful of those fasting and reflecting on sacrifice – were feasting and handing out help to the needy!! He’s pretty sure about the feasting part while harbouring trenchant doubts about handing out Zakat!!
Then again, it’s possible they were transfixed by what’s going on in Iran and the Straits of Hormuz. The blockage of shipping by the Iranians has been good for us at the moment!! With the increased oil prices pouring so much extra revenues into Exxon’s coffers they predict they’ll be paying off their fixed up-front expenses this year!! We’ll THEN finally be getting a REAL 50% of the profits since they wouldn’t be taking off 75% off the top before splitting the measly remaining 25% with us!! But again, your Eyewitness doubts our opposition worthies will be celebrating the PPP government getting such a boost in revenues to accelerate their development programs!! How do you keep them down on the (opposition) farm once they’ve seen the bright lights of the (PPP) city?!!
So, your Eyewitness had to keep his eyes on foreign developments as they impact on us. Over in Iran, unlike most of the Arabian Middle East they’d celebrated Eid on Saturday rather than Friday. And Pres Trump chose the occasion to deliver a 48-hour ultimatum to the new Iranian leadership – free up shipping in the Straits of Hormuz or the US would bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure and paralyse their economy in literal darkness!!
The Iranians, however, had other ideas. Between bouts of their Eid celebration, they intensified their bombing of Israel and other US targets in the surrounding gulf States!! Their supersonic ballistic missile was able to pierce Israel’s vaunted “Iron Dome” and strike targets near their mega nuclear site at Dimona!! They were responding tit-for-tat to an Israeli Saturday morning bombing close to one of their nuclear facilities!! And late Sunday night – mere hours before the 48-hour deadline expired – they hit several new Gulf States targets after destroying Qatar’s largest LNG plant!!
It wasn’t therefore surprising when early Mon morning Pres Trump announced he was extending his deadline to bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure by 5 days – because of “talks” between the US and Iran on ending the war. Iran denied there were any “direct” communications.
In your Eyewitness’ opinion it’s unlikely the Iranians would call it quits when they’ve finally been able to give their greatest enemy – Israel – pause and to their ability to pierce their defences!!
US ground forces next??

…our (not-so-Black) Gold
Yeah…while crude oils usually referred to as “Black Gold” – our light crude coming out from under the Atlantic is so free from the heavy oils and tars that’s typical – that ours should be called “light gold”!! Anyhow, in an announcement that should make some of us who’ve been clamoring for renegotiation of the 2016 PSA with Exxon to think a bit harder about the risks inherent in oil exploration five to eight thousand meters below the sea!! Not give up on better terms – but think harder!!
Exxon just announced it was giving up its 35% ownership of Canje Block. That’s it!! It is walking away after spending hundreds of millions to sink two wells – along with its partners JHI with17.5%, TotalEnergies 35% and Mid Atlantic 12.5%. JHI sold its share to Eco. The point is, it takes a lot of guts – and deep pockets – to exploit oil resources at that depth.
The two wells were at locations that seismic studies had confirmed half-a-billion barrels there. But they weren’t commercial!!

…our western front
Delcy Rodriguez, reappointed hardliner Wilfredo Alejandro Medrano Machado as the commander of Guayana – one of the eight Regiones Estratégicas de Defensa Integral (Strategic Integral Defense Regions) – that includes our Essequibo!!
Not good news.