The giant Exxon project that could create the world’s last petrostate

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🗞️ Driving the news: ExxonMobil's massive offshore oil project in Guyana, with partners Hess and Cnooc, could create the world's last petrostate, but it risks the "resource curse" that could harm the country's economy and society

🔭 The context: Guyana's economy grew by 33% last year, driven by oil development
• However, critics argue the 2016 production sharing agreement is overly favorable to the oil companies and may bypass the public

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The project is labeled a "climate bomb" by environmentalists, who warn that rising sea levels could submerge Georgetown by 2030, complicating global climate goals

⏭️ What's next: Opposition parties plan to renegotiate oil revenues and compliance with laws ahead of the 2025 election
• Meanwhile, local discontent grows over rising prices and stagnant wages amid the oil boom

💬 One quote: “When countries get big oil windfalls their governments tend to become more corrupt, less accountable and it becomes rarer and rarer to have free and fair elections,” says Michael Ross, UCLA professor

📈 One stat: More than $55 billion of investment has been sanctioned to extract just under half of the 11 billion barrels of oil discovered in the Stabroek Block

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