Dear Editor,
September 1st, one year ago must not be forgotten. The results of the General Elections[1] sent shock-waves, surprises, and stress in certain quarters. In others, it marked the entrance of a new actor on the political stage of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. For others, there were jubilations. And for some failure, in spite of massive resources, to achieve the two-thirds majority to allow them to govern with imperial-like authority. Mind you, this period began with an attitude reminiscent of Charles I, who felt he had divine rights to rule England without consulting parliament, Oliver Cromwell lead the crusade to bring His Royal Highness to his senses and the separation of his head from the rest of his body.
Beyond the briefly stated dynamics of the above, the anniversary of those elections requires deep thought and a resolve by Guyanese, irrespective of race, colour, creed or political belief, to understand and to interpret the changes, some unthinkable six or seven decades ago. The truth is; the only constant in life’s experience is change itself. “Change, indeed, is so pervasive that only after the antithetical concept of changelessness and immutability was developed in the earliest period of Greek philosophy did change become a problem for philosophical thought.”
A brief look at Guyana today suggests that if we are to fulfil the objectives of our National Pledge and the realisation of the oath all of our leaders swear to upon assuming office, we must initiate changes as we celebrate this anniversary of elections 2025, so that our children and their offspring be the full beneficiaries of this wonderful place. The best country in the world, Guyana; no floods, no hurricanes, no wildfires, no extremes of hot and cold, and inhabited by a people who are generally peaceful and thought to pray in their separate religious and cultural organisations.
Today we must face the hurdles, and the stumbling blocks that stand in the way of making every Guyanese comfortable, and enjoying the benefits of our gold, diamond, oil and gas, timber, and freshwater. On paper Guyanese, even with the sudden report that our population is now one million, are the richest people per capita, richer than North America, China, India and Europe.
As we celebrate this anniversary, we are faced with contortions and distortions related to oil and gas. Only after the Exxon Mobil representatives revealed in a report to shareholders, that the investment had been paid off two years earlier than expected, did our government acknowledge this important development which means that substantial sums ought to be available to Guyanese. During the course of this week Dr. Vincent Adams will deal with this matter in extenso.
As we observe this anniversary let us together make a clarion call to prevail upon the present administration to do necessary things in order to allow, we the people to benefit from and enjoy the bounty given to us. Recently, I have spoken to people who are afraid to speak-up for fear of losing their jobs, or compromising opportunities for family members. Today there is no place for cowards. Today we must spend more time teaching our contemporaries and our youth the history of our country, with such knowledge we give them the courage and the ability to speak-up for change, to speak-up to narrow the gap between the new rich and the everlasting poor. Speaking to some young men last Friday evening, at a night of reflection for the late Pan-Africanist Tom Dalgety, one youth observed that some folks are stuck at the bottom of the Economic ladder of our country, unacceptable. We need men and women who are not intoxicated, and misguided by the “filthy lucre”, huge sums of money now available to purchase those without the knowledge of our history.
Guyanese as we start a new school term, as we remember the steady steps of silliness, we must be unafraid to speak-up. I remember Shakespear’s play Julius Caesar, when Caesar said “Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste of death but once”.
Sincerely,
Elder Hamilton Green
Elder Hamilton Green
References
- Guyana Elections Results 2025 - GECOM Declarations - Stabroek News — www.stabroeknews.com ↩
Other references
(Kaieteur News) – ExxonMobil has recovered all of its investments made in Guyana to date, a development that now entitles the country to benefit from 50% or half of the oil being produced in the Stabroek Block.
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He told shareholders, “The success of this development has set a new standard for the industry, and frankly, has exceeded our own expectations. Delivering on tight schedules, at industry-leading cost – with strong reliability and optimised production – has resulted in recovering our capital and cost nearly two years earlier than anticipated, increasing NPV, and desaturating the cost bank.”
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Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Exxon, Neil Hansen offered clarity, “…as we mentioned, at this point, we’ve fully recovered the $55 billion of investment, along with all the operating costs and the way the contractor agreement works is we can recover that investment up to 75%. After that, the remaining production is shared 50/50 between us and the government of Guyana.”
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In accordance with the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), the contractor is allowed to deduct 75% of the oil produced monthly to recover its investments. The remaining 25% is then split with Guyana as profits, meaning the country collects 12.5% of profits.
After Exxon recovers its investment, the country will be entitled to 50% of the oil produced, after the operator takes out operating expenses.
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to the seven approved
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2026.
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At that time, he told reporters approximately US$5B was still to be recovered.
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Subsequently, in June, Kaieteur News reported based on an in-house analysis that Guyana has paid off ExxonMobil the full cost of seven oil projects approved to date by government.
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Using an average oil price of US$80 per barrel, considering daily production for the year so far at approximately 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), the Stabroek Block generated approximately US$12.3B in revenue up to 20 th June, 2026.
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According to the oil deal, 75% of revenue is dedicated to cost, as such, it could be estimated that US$9.2B went towards cost, far more than the US$5B that needed to be recovered according to Exxon.
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This means that Guyana should already be receiving its full 50% profits outlined in the PSA as the cost of all seven oil projects sanctioned by the GoG has been repaid.
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Notably, the major development in Guyana’s petroleum sector was announced by Exxon to its shareholders while government has not said a word to the nation regarding the increased revenue flow into the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) as a result of the cost bank now being empty.
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Similarly, EMGL did not respond to queries from Kaieteur News sent since 23 rd July, regarding the balance remaining in the cost bank or clarification on whether the company’s total investment has been recovered.
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The public therefore must know when the cost bank was cleared and whether Guyana is now receiving its 50% profit in keeping with the PSA.
Vice President and Chief Policymaker for the Oil and Gas sector, Bharrat Jagdeo
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government must explain
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future projects will be managed financially
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development will add more costs for the
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means that the country can go back to receiving
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provision to ensure that new projects are self
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paid for when oil production starts at that development
Sources
- Call for Guyanese to benefit from oil wealth in Kaieteur News, September 2, 2026
- Call for Guyanese to benefit from oil wealth in Kiskadee Watch, September 1, 2026