About
For decades now, the fossil fuel industry has told the same story: Oil equals development and prosperity. Access. Equality. Stability. A better quality of life. As the world’s fossil fuel companies race to tap the last of the planet’s oil reserves we have a chance to examine that promise up close, in real time.
What it looks like on the ground in countries like Guyana, Uganda, and Mozambique is a lot like what the first phase of extractive colonialism looked like a hundred years ago. Working with reporters living in these countries we are continuously investigating what this new flavor of oil colonialism looks like, starting with an in-depth, two-year reporting project in Guyana.
Several miles off the coast of Guyana sits one of the world’s largest oil reserves. In 2015, ExxonMobil, which had held offshore drilling leases in the country for decades, announced it had found oil and would begin production as soon as possible. Government officials quickly got in line, and in 2019 the first barrels shipped from ExxonMobil Guyana. Today, Exxon projects that oil from Guyana could account for 25% of its total production in the next few years. But environmentalists and government corruption watchdogs have begun to push back on the project. Why start an oil industry in the midst of climate crisis? And especially in a country at great risk of climate impacts? Via a contract that will sooner put Guyana in debt than make it a rich oil state, no less?
In just a few years, Exxon has co-opted both government and civil society, buying up social license in every corner of the country. Oil executives and Guyanese officials are still telling the story that oil equals development and prosperity, and on paper Guyana is the fastest-growing economy in the world, but average citizens aren’t benefiting from the boom. Today, there are only a couple of journalists left covering the project with any sort of skepticism, and one lawyer left willing to take it on in court.
S8 Update: Gas to Energy for Guyana, or Problem to Profit for Exxon?
Guyana’s Gas to Energy project has been billed as a gift to the public, but the numbers tell a different story.
Guyana’s Gas to Energy project has been billed as a gift to the public, but the numbers tell a different story.
S3, Ep7 | The Global Oil Rush
How the global oil rush is playing out elsewhere in the world.
How the global oil rush is playing out elsewhere in the world.
S8, Ep7 | The Global Oil Rush
What’s happening in Guyana is happening throughout the Global South.
What’s happening in Guyana is happening throughout the Global South.
S8, Ep5 | On Global Poverty and Global Warming
How the utter failure of international climate negotiations and global development funding has left Global South countries reliant on fossil fuel development to pay for climate adaptation.
How the utter failure of international climate negotiations and global development funding has left Global South countries reliant on fossil fuel development to pay for climate adaptation.
S3, Ep5 | On Global Poverty and Global Warming
Debunking the “moral case” for fossil fuels
Debunking the “moral case” for fossil fuels
S8, Ep4 | Constitutional Violation
New plaintiffs argue the oil project undermines their constitutional right to a healthy environment.
New plaintiffs argue the oil project undermines their constitutional right to a healthy environment.
S3, Ep2 | The Contract
The details of Exxon’s contract with Guyana
The details of Exxon’s contract with Guyana
S3, Ep3 | Unlimited Liability
The lawyer taking on Guyana’s new oil industry.
The lawyer taking on Guyana’s new oil industry.
S3, Ep8 | The Turning Point
What’s next for Guyana.
What’s next for Guyana.
S8, Ep3 | Unlimited Liability
A lawyer steps in to challenge the risks the government is taking.
A lawyer steps in to challenge the risks the government is taking.
S3, Ep4 | Constitutional Violation
The case arguing that the oil project violates Guyana’s right to a healthy environment.
The case arguing that the oil project violates Guyana’s right to a healthy environment.
S8, Ep6 | Old-School Greenwashing
Why Guyana’s environmental organizations are supporting an offshore drilling project.
Why Guyana’s environmental organizations are supporting an offshore drilling project.
S8, Ep8 | The Turning Point
Guyana faces some big decisions about its future.
Guyana faces some big decisions about its future.
S8, Ep1 | The Boom
Exxon strikes oil off the coast of Guyana.
Exxon strikes oil off the coast of Guyana.
S8, Ep2 | The Contract
After asking for years, journalists finally see Guyana’s contract with Exxon
After asking for years, journalists finally see Guyana’s contract with Exxon
S3 Bonus: A Verdict
A verdict in Janki’s insurance case.
A verdict in Janki’s insurance case.
S3, Ep1 | The Boom
What happened when Guyana struck oil.
What happened when Guyana struck oil.
S8, Ep9 | A Verdict
A Guyanese judge shocks the world with a blistering ruling against Exxon and the government.
A Guyanese judge shocks the world with a blistering ruling against Exxon and the government.
