by Reynold Benjamin
In a fit of passion and distress arising out of the destruction of Levera Beach and the environs of the lake by developers and the injustice meted out to owners and occupiers of the land around the lake, I got on my computer and started to pound the keyboard. From the comments made to me, I know that the resulting articles are being appreciated. When I began writing, I had no notion of what I would say or the manner in which I would say it. Having spent my formative years at Levera, I had become one with the environment. I felt, deeply, that I had to say something. And, although time carries a premium and writing is not my favourite past time, I started to write something. That something has been going on for six weeks, fueled by public enthusiasm. And, because Levera is but one example of what the public recognize as mismanagement by government, these articles have broadened in scope and evolved beyond the original motivation and intent. As I endeavoured to place Levera in proper perspective, it became necessary, for better general understanding, to look at some of the other projects attempted by this government during its time in office. To do so fairly, I adopted the yardstick, or measure, recommended by the World Bank in assessing performances of governments and I invited you to use that yardstick to make your own assessment of the general performance of this government, good or bad, since 1995. That yardstick, as you know, is the management by Government of the country’s economic and social resources with a view to development. In part five, together, we took a look at agriculture, the most vital sector of our economy. Readers have noticed the drift and have expressed the view that the title of the articles should be changed as we, together, examine each individual project. I understand. In response, I have sub-named this article “oil & gas” because I had promised that in part six we will start with the oil & gas contract signed, in 1996, by the Mitchell Government with an unknown Texas company called RSM Production Corporation, run by one Jack Grinsburg. But, again, these articles have been unfolding in an unexpected and strange fashion. Recently, quite by accident, someone gave me some interesting information on the Stadium. And then another unexpected thing happened. Do you believe in miracles? Well, I do. Let me explain what happened on Friday 1st, June. I was invited to lunch at the Nutmeg Restaurant on the Carenage. As I walked into the restaurant, I met Dr. Carlyle “Carl” Mitchell. We greeted each other and in the middle of exchanging small talk and pleasantries he said, “by chance, I have with me a paper I did for Keith Mitchell on the oil & gas situation”. I was astonished. “Can I have a copy”, I asked. “Sure you can have a copy”, he responded. “Can I quote you in my article”, I questioned. “Why not”, he responded, “the public should have the information”. Now, I have the information. It belongs to you, the people. But before delivering it to you, I must tell you, the best I can, a little about Dr. Carl Mitchell of Bain Alley, St. George’s, Grenada son of Rupert and Amy Mitchell, former pupil of St. Joseph’s Convent (yes, no mistake, boys went there), Presentation Boys College, B.A. (Economics) St. Francis Xavier University, M.A. (Economics) University of Alberta, Ph.D. (Economics) University of Ottawa, Diploma in Quantitative Analysis and Evaluation of Public Policy, Institute for the Quantitative Analysis of Social and Economic Policy, University of Toronto. Dr. Carl Mitchell is President of the Consulting firm North-South Intermedium Limited. He is a specialist in Resource Economics with emphasis on marine resources i.e. how we use the sea; fishery resources i.e. how we manage our stock of fish; and oil and gas resources i.e. the development and management of petroleum resources under the sea. He is also a specialist in Economic Development and Planning, Economic Evaluation and Policy Analysis and Economic Analysis. In 1992-1995, he served the people of Grenada first, as Advisor to the Prime Minister and, then, as Permanent Secretary/Director General in the Ministry of Finance. Dr. Carl Mitchell has served the people of the region; during 1963-1965, as Economist in the Ministry of Finance, St. Lucia and 1988-1992 as Director, Economic Affairs Secretariat of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. During the period 1965-1981, Dr. Carl Mitchell served with the Federal Government of Canada in his specialist field ending as Acting Director of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. His assignments as President of North-South Intermedium Limited have taken him not only through the region including Guyana and Jamaica but across the World.
Carlyle L. Mitchell was the first of about 45 students to be registered at Presentation Boys College when it opened its doors in 1947. And of the thousands who have graced, since, the portals of that noble institution, he is the epitome of the contribution made by PBC to Grenada, the region and the world. He was a model person and student. In those days the younger boys looked up to the older boys and patterned themselves on them. Discipline, application to study and proper attire were the order of the day, not only in the classroom and compound of the college but on the street, whether in or out of uniform. Men of today then shuddered at the sound of the footsteps of Bro. Lennard as he strode from his office along the corridor. And they knew fully well that if they dared to lime by Everybody’s Store (now Buy Rite) after school Bro. Lennard would be perched at his vantage point on the hill armed with binoculars scanning the liming spot for delinquents. And, woebetide the culprits the next day. Many of that first batch of boys have passed on. May their souls rest in peace. Many are abroad serving in various walks of life and some are still among us making valuable contributions. Among those in Grenada, today, are Clifford Robertson, Neville Rennie, Winson Keens Douglas, Neville Calliste, Dr. Bernard Gittens, Roy De Coto, George Fletcher, Norbert “Bunny” Fletcher, Paul Redhead and Dr. Denis Radix, as I can recall.
To me, meeting Dr. Carlyle Mitchell at this particular moment when I was about to write, again, about our unquantified oil & gas resources was a “Godsend”. Because I had written extensively before in trying to get our people to understand what the international oil and gas industry has for the longest time known that is that little Grenada has meaningful resources of oil and gas in its waters. I have quoted from studies and reports done by the Commonwealth Foundation for Technical Cooperation. I have pointed out, without denial or contradiction, that the major studies were handed to Dr. Keith Mitchell in 1985, personally, when he was Minister of Works in the Herbert Blaize administration. I spoke on this matter at a public meeting in New York, in 2003. I ranted and raved about it at meetings during the last election campaign principally because I believed that this matter is of paramount importance to the future of Grenada. Like St. Thomas, we remain unconvinced until we place our fingers in the wound of the risen Christ. Even among my own, I was told that oil & gas is a “pie in the sky” and “a pipe dream”. Where there is no vision there is no leadership. Yet, without despairing, I was about to write again, desperately trying to open the eyes and ears of some of our people. And Lo and Behold! the messenger came in the person of Dr. Carlyle L. Mitchell of Bain Alley St. George’s, one of our own. I will give you his message without comment. Who wish, may place their fingers in the wound.
Dr. Carlyle “Carl” L. Mitchell’s paper, written in 1987, is entitled “DICUSSION BRIEF: THE NEED FOR A STRATEGY AND POLICY FOR GRENADA’S OIL & GAS RESOURCES.
In the Introduction it is stated;
“Grenada is situated in a large marine area of favourable strata for oil and gas that stretches from Venezuela and extends northwards up the Eastern Caribbean island chain as far as Martinique. With the establishment of Grenada’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), (exclusive economic zone) a considerable portion of the favourable strata will fall under Grenada’s jurisdiction and control (DOSP, 1982). Although the most favourable strata is to be found in very deep water….which will make exploration and exploitation very costly…and although world market prices for oil & gas are low, the government of Grenada should, nevertheless, develop a strategy and policy for gaining access to and profiting from its oil and gas resources.
The Honourable Keith Mitchell, Ph.D., Minister of Communications and Public Utilities, requested Dr. Carlyle L. Mitchell, president of North-South Intermedium Limited, to prepare a proposal for developing such a strategy for the Government of Grenada”.
In the following eight pages, inclusive of maps and diagrams, Dr. Carl Mitchell outlined the problems faced by small-island oil-dependent economies such as Grenada due to the fluctuations in world oil price, gave the history of geo-physical surveys and studies of the Eastern Caribbean region, and rationalized the need for an oil & gas strategy for Grenada.
In dealing with the history of geo-physical investigations, he states on page 3; “During the PRG (People Revolutionary Government) regime,(1979-1983) an oil rig was constructed on the extremity of the natural promulgation of the Trinidad & Tobago continental shelf by Trinidad & Tobago. According to equidistance criteria established by the Law of the Sea Convention (1983), this area will fall under Grenada’s EEZ, and hence Grenada will have acquired a will. The actual production performance of this rig is not known, however. In the early 1980’s, a geo-physical survey by an Ottawa based consulting firm discovered a small oil basin about 12 or 13 miles south of Point Salines. The finding indicated that though small it could be exploited economically and could meet Grenada’s demands for oil and gas for a number of years. More recently, in 1983, Petro-Canada International Assistance Corporation conducted a geo-physical survey of the Eastern Caribbean that covered part of Grenada’s area. The results of this survey indicated that: (a) oil and gas resources exist in exploitable quantities in the area; and (b) these resources can be exploited from the shallow areas in the Grenadines and to the north of Barbados”.
TO BE CONTINUED.
