The profits received by the Guyanese national treasury are minuscule compared to the enormous profits to be reaped by the US oil company ExxonMobil from the exploitation of crude oil in the Stabroek block, located in waters that have not yet been delimited with Venezuela. Although this fact has caused the historical dispute between both nations to heat up, it is paradoxical that Guyana is the least favored in this equation.
Guyana to Receive Pyrrhic Profits From ExxonMobil Oil Production
Tag: Exploitation of natural resources
Five of Lenin’s Insights That Are More Pertinent Than Ever
Today we mourn a hundred years since the physical death of one of our dearest comrades, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known to us as Lenin. It would be foolish, however, to think that his physical death meant the death of his ideas. Today, after a hundred years, Lenin’s ideas are as indispensable as ever. “They are mistaken when they think that his death is the end of his ideas”. This was told to us by Fidel Castro upon the death of Che Guevara, but it applies with equal accuracy to Lenin’s death.
Five of Lenin’s Insights That Are More Pertinent Than Ever
Guyanese Are Becoming Poorer Despite Living in World’s Fastest Growing Economy
With a GDP growth of over 63% in 2022, according to the World Bank, and an estimated GDP growth of about 38% in 2023, Guyana is frequently referred to as the world’s fastest-growing economy. The meteoric rise of Guyana’s GDP is almost entirely due to the exploitation of recently discovered oil reserves by US-based multinational petroleum corporation ExxonMobil, a company that traces its origins to Rockefeller’s Standard Oil company.
Guyanese Are Becoming Poorer Despite Living in World’s Fastest Growing Economy
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Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America and shares cultural and historical bonds with the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana’s two largest ethnic groups are the Afro-Guyanese (descendants of African slaves) and the Indo-Guyanese (descendants of Indian indentured laborers), which together comprise about three quarters of Guyana’s population. Tensions periodically have boiled over between the two groups, which back ethnically based political parties and vote along ethnic lines. Poverty reduction has stagnated since the late 1990s. About one-third of the Guyanese population lives below the poverty line; indigenous people are disproportionately affected. Although Guyana’s literacy rate is reported to be among the highest in the Western Hemisphere, the level of functional literacy is considerably lower, which has been attributed to poor education quality, teacher training, and infrastructure.
Guyana’s emigration rate is among the highest in the world – more than 55% of its citizens reside abroad – and it is one of the largest recipients of remittances relative to GDP among Latin American and Caribbean counties. Although remittances are a vital source of income for most citizens, the pervasive emigration of skilled workers deprives Guyana of professionals in healthcare and other key sectors. More than 80% of Guyanese nationals with tertiary level educations have emigrated. Brain drain and the concentration of limited medical resources in Georgetown hamper Guyana’s ability to meet the health needs of its predominantly rural population. Guyana has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the region and continues to rely on international support for its HIV treatment and prevention programs.
CIA: World Fact Book
North Korea is sitting on trillions of dollars of untapped wealth
I’m sure that US corporations would love to exploit their minerals, too.
North Korea is sitting on trillions of dollars of untapped wealth
Few think of North Korea as being a prosperous nation. But it is rich in one regard: mineral resources.
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But however much North Korea could extract from other nations that way, the result would pale in comparison to the value of its largely untapped underground resources.
Below the nation’s mostly mountainous surface are vast mineral reserves, including iron, gold, magnesite, zinc, copper, limestone, molybdenum, graphite, and more—all told about 200 kinds of minerals. Also present are large amounts of rare earth metals, which factories in nearby countries need to make smartphones and other high-tech products.
Estimates as to the value of the nation’s mineral resources have varied greatly over the years, made difficult by secrecy and lack of access. North Korea itself has made what are likely exaggerated claims about them. According to one estimate from a South Korean state-owned mining company, they’re worth over $6 trillion. Another from a South Korean research institute puts the amount closer to $10 trillion.
North Korea has prioritized its mining sector since the 1970s (pdf, p. 31). But while mining production increased until about 1990—iron ore production peaked in 1985—after that it started to decline. A count in 2012 put the number of mines in the country at about 700 (pdf, p. 2). Many, though, have been poorly run and are in a state of neglect. The nation lacks the equipment, expertise, and even basic infrastructure to properly tap into the jackpot that waits in the ground.
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It doesn’t help that private mining is illegal in communist North Korea, as are private enterprises in general (at least technically). Or that the ruling regime, now led by third-generation
dictatorKim Jong-un, has been known to, seemingly on a whim, kick out foreign mining companies it’s allowed in, or suddenly change the terms of agreements.Despite all this, the nation is so blessed with underground resources that mining makes up roughly 14% of the economy.
A “cash cow”
China is the sector’s main customer. Last September, South Korea’s state-run Korea Development Institute said that the mineral trade between North Korea and China remains a “cash cow” for Pyongyang despite UN sanctions, and that it accounted for 54% (paywall) of the North’s total trade volume to China in the first half of 2016. In 2015 China imported $73 million in iron ore from North Korea, and $680,000 worth of zinc in the first quarter of this year.
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But South Korea has its own plans for the mineral resources. It sees them as a way to help pay for reunification (should it finally come to pass), which is expected to take decades and cost hundreds of billionsor even trillions of dollars. (Germany knows a few things about that.) Overhauling the North’s decrepit infrastructure, including the aging railway line, will be part of the enormous bill.
In May, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport invited companies to submit bids on possible infrastructure projects in North Korea, especially ones regarding the mining sector. It argued that (paywall) the underground resources could “cover the expense of repairing the North’s poor infrastructure.”
Maduro Orders ‘Defensive’ Military Drills After UK Deploys British Warship Off Guyana Coast
CARACAS – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered on Thursday the armed forces to launch “the activation of a joint defensive action” in response to the deployment of a British warship off the coast of Guyana.
Maduro Orders ‘Defensive’ Military Drills After UK Deploys British Warship Off Guyana Coast
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Venezuela To Deploy Defensive Action in Response to UK Threat
US Foreign Policy Is a Scam Built on Corruption
US foreign policy seems to be utterly irrational. The US gets into one disastrous war after another — Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine, and Gaza. In recent days, the US stands globally isolated in its support of Israel’s genocidal actions against the Palestinians, voting against a UN General Assembly resolution for a Gaza ceasefire backed by 153 countries with 89% of the world population, and opposed by just the US and 9 small countries with less than 1% of the world population.
US Foreign Policy Is a Scam Built on Corruption
Argentina: the movement against Milei has begun
As we were about to publish the latest editorial of the Argentine section of the IMT, concerning the first budget announcements of the new government of far-right demagogue president Milei, he doubled down: announcing by decree the abolition of over 300 pieces of legislation, which regulate economic activity in a wide range of fields. This is an unprecedented, ultra-liberal assault on the rights and living conditions of the working masses, introduced using undemocratic emergency decree powers. The announcement provoked a spontaneous movement of protest, with thousands coming out into the streets of Buenos Aires, as Alejandro Spezia describes in this special update (the original article follows after).
Argentina: the movement against Milei has begun
Philippines provoked China’s water cannoning at Ayungin Shoal
By Daniel Long
President Bongbong Marcos shocked the nation when he put out a tweet (X post) this weekend on the recent water cannoning incidents at Ayungin and Scarborough Shoal. I would like to highlight this part of his statement: “Let me reiterate what is settled and widely recognized: Ayungin Shoal is within our Exclusive Economic Zone, any foreign claim of sovereignty over it is baseless and absolutely contrary to international law…No one but the Philippines has a legitimate right or legal basis to operate anywhere in the West Philippine Sea.”
PH provoked China’s water cannoning at Ayungin Shoal
ExxonMobil foresees profit and expansion surge fueled by Guyana, Permian advancements
ExxonMobil foresees profit and expansion surge fueled by Guyana, Permian advancements
With an annual total capital expenditure and exploration expense projection ranging between US$23 billion to US$25 billion, ExxonMobil is set to allocate US$22-$27 billion annually toward project spending until 2027. This includes a commitment to emerging ventures in lithium and low-carbon initiatives, with an 18% increase in spending in these areas.
Emphasizing its dedication to the energy transition, ExxonMobil’s Low Carbon Solutions division is expected to witness an increase in budget from US$17 billion to US$20 billion between 2022 and 2027, contingent upon government support.
The company plans to ramp up annual share buybacks to $20 billion by 2025, an increase from the current US$17.5 billion, following the completion of the Pioneer merger. Additionally, ExxonMobil continues its divestment strategy for refining operations.
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Venezuela’s Maduro orders foreign companies to leave Guyanese concessions
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced that foreign companies working in the disputed Guyanese county of Essequibo would have to withdraw within three months, asserting his right to do so after Venezuelan voters backed their nation’s control of the territory in a referendum Sunday, Bloomberg reported Tuesday night.
Venezuela’s Maduro orders foreign companies to leave Guyanese concessions
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Venezuela: FANB Deployed in Territory Bordering Essequibo
Military personnel carry out the construction of bridges, repair roads, and provide medical care to the inhabitants of the community.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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