At Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, my professors emphasized that timely intervention is essential to sound governance. It prevents harmful policies from becoming entrenched, reduces the cost of corrective action and maximizes public benefit.
That lesson is especially relevant now. President Donald Trump recently accused ExxonMobil and Chevron of making “too much money” and urged them to return more of their profits to the public. He has demonstrated both the willingness and the influence to summon corporate leaders and pressure them publicly.
Guyana should seize this extraordinary moment. President Irfaan Ali should formally ask President Trump to mediate discussions with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth and the other Stabroek stakeholders toward a voluntary “Guyana Fair Return Agreement.”
Trump cannot simply order these companies to pay Guyana more. However, through negotiation, public pressure, incentives and rigorous enforcement, he possesses substantial persuasive leverage. Guyana’s failure even to make the request would represent a grave failure of leadership, and malpractice.
Trump could call upon ExxonMobil and Chevron to disclose their total Stabroek investments and recovered costs, their cumulative profits from Guyana, Guyana’s true effective share of petroleum revenues, why Guyana receives only a 2% royalty, and whether they would accept those same terms today in a proven, highly profitable petroleum basin.
Such transparency could generate pressure from shareholders, pension funds, churches, civic organizations and international institutions for a voluntary adjustment.
The most practical objective would be a supplemental, price-sensitive royalty-potentially increasing Guyana’s royalty to 5%-combined with stricter cost auditing, project ring-fencing and increased national-development payments. This would provide Guyana with a fairer return while preserving reasonable investment profits.
President Ali should immediately ask President Trump to mediate-not to confiscate- ExxonMobil’s rights, but to secure a fair and voluntary rebalancing of an agreement negotiated under circumstances that have changed dramatically since 2016.
As a final point of leverage, Guyana may remind the companies that public demands for national control of the country’s petroleum assets, or dreaded “Nationalization,” will inevitably intensify if voluntary fairness remains impossible.
The time to act is now. Guyana must ask-and President Trump should help. He must “put his money where his mouth is.”
Hon. Albert Baldeo
Community Leader, Advocate and Judicial Delegate
Queens, NY, USA
