OPINION: Are the Glenn Lall attacks on ExxonMobil causing irreparable harm?

Last Updated on Monday, 4 March 2024, 7:35 by Denis Chabrol

By Dr. Randy Persaud, Professor Emeritus

Hardly a day goes by without Kaieteur News publisher Mr. Glenn Lall making some derogatory remarks about ExxonMobil. The attacks are vented either directly or through Kaieteur News’ editorials. The letter section of KN and articles by columnists also partake in the relentless assault against the very company that is spearheading the massive investments in the nation’s oil and gas industry. At some point we must ask the question – how much damage is Glen Lall doing to Guyana as an investment destination?

Today’s Kaieteur News editorial is typical of the vitriolic language employed in the anti-Exxon campaign. The oil major is described as “ruthlessly calculating, like one that would slowly, cleverly poison his sick mother or spouse” (KN, 3/3/2024). No one excepting Glen Lall himself knows the purpose of these vicious attacks, attacks that go way beyond constructive criticism. From a purely analytical perspective, I cannot help but think that the main idea is to sell more newspapers. Selling more newspapers, of course, is a financial strategy for any publisher. The more papers you sell, the more you can charge for ads. The unremitting attacks also fall in the category of yellow journalism.

Yellow journalism is a form of sensationalism intended to grab attention. This kind of sensationalist journalism began in New York in the 1890s where two publishers, Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) and Randolph Hearst (New York Journal), competed to sell more newspapers in the city. The tabloid style competition was so far reaching that historians have blamed it for pushing the US to invade and occupy Cuba (a colony of Spain at the time) in 1898. Sensationalist journalism does have consequences.

In the case of Guyana, the diatribes against ExxonMobil are usually framed in the language of imperialism and other offensive historical tendencies. Note that Exxon has been singled out for the anti-foreign investment campaign. There is hardly any mention of CNOOC or Hess, or any of the other companies linked to oil and gas in Guyana. Exxon is therefore used as a symbol for misdeeds on a grand scale. In more academic language, the American oil giant has been constructed as the dangerous Other. In this case, Guyana is portrayed as an innocent virgin that must be saved by Mr. Lall and his various apparatuses.

You need not be a genius to know that foreign capital does not like uncertainty. The latter can take several forms. An unstable political situation is a red flag. An unsound macro-economic environment is another. We know this for sure because political instability (driven by lack of cooperation by the APNU-AFC) led to the collapse of the Amaila Falls hydro project. And more structurally, years of unsound macro-economic policies, combined with a lack of democracy under the PNC (1968-1992), chased away foreign capital. This nation suffered immensely once direct foreign investment dried up.

Glenn Lall’s sermons against ExxonMobil has the potential of dampening the spirits of foreign investors. Could it be that this man’s political campaign is causing irreparable harm? As it stands today, foreign investors must be pleased with the macro-economic situation in Guyana. The 2023 IMF Article IV Consultation was clear in its appraisal of the central tendencies of the economy, including but not limited to fiscal discipline, debt sustainability, and economic growth. It is report on Guyana, the IMF “commend[ed] the authorities’ progress to strengthen the management of oil wealth and its fiscal transparency…”

ExxonMobil, along with other foreign investors are making an invaluable contribution to the development of Guyana. The money they have poured into this country via oil and gas exploration and production of recent, have surpassed the total investment here for more than a few hundred years. Unlike the previous centuries of investments through imperial intrigue, ExxonMobil and partners have been engaged here through legally binding contracts. I’ll end by stating that a contract is a contract. Mr. Lall and Kaieteur News must appreciate this most salient principle.

Dr. Randy Persaud is Advisor, International Affairs, Office of the President.