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GuyanareceivesUS$377Mfromoilinthreemonths
from Kaieteur News
by GxMedia
The Government of Guyana (GoG) yesterday announced that the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) has received a total of US$377,140,826.94 in oil revenuesofarfortheyear
Through the Official Gazette dated March 31, 2023, the Ministry of Finance provided the detailed breakdown on the sumsreceivedthusfarforthe petroleumsector
Five deposits have been made into the Fund for the period January 1, 2023 to March31,2023.
On January 3, 2023 a d e p o s i t o f US$82,612,294 01 was made into the account from profit oil, followed by a second payment on January 23,ofUS$75,074,493.46.
A royalty payment was also made on January 30, of US$57,591,504 37 This was followed by two profit oilpaymentsonFebruary16 a n d M a r c h 2 0 o f US$82,248,712.42 and US$79,613,822.68, respectively.
Profit oil receipts are derived from Government’s lifts of crude oil earned as profit whereas royalties are paid on a quarterly basis, 30 days following the end of eachcalendarquarter
At the end of February, 2023,theFundhadaclosing b a l a n c e o f
US$1,379,353,505 59 according to the data provided by the Bank of Guyana. The Bank has not yetupdatedthebalancewith the payments received for March.
The NRF legislation, passed in the National AssemblyinDecember2021 makes it mandatory for deposits to be Fund to be madepublic.
Even as the resources trickle in, it must be noted t h a t t h e l o p s i d e d
ExxonMobiloilcontracthas been criticized for the abusive provisions in place that allow for more benefits
Tothecontractor
Citizens have been calling for the deal to be renegotiated to ensure Guyana secures more value for its light sweet crude. Although more than 11 billion barrels of oil has already been discovered offshore in the prolific Stabroek Block operated by Exxon’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), theGoGisrefusingtoamend the provisions of the contract.
In that contract Guyana has settled for 50 percent profit sharing, after Exxon takes 75 percent of the earnings to clear its expenses.
The deal that the oil company often brags about to its shareholders, also forces Guyanese to pay their share of taxes, amounting to millions of US dollars each year This figure is likely to further balloon as more operations comeonstream
Inaddition,thecountryis allowing ExxonMobil to operateoffshorewithoutfull liability coverage in the event of an oil spill, which means that the risk is borne byGuyana.
Another key provision that is lacking in the document is ring-fencing provision, which would avoid the oil company from usingthepetroleumrevenue in one field to cover for expensesinanother
