In the light of the recent oil discovery offshore Guyana by US oil giant ExxonMobil, a team from the Commonwealth is here to assist in upgrading Guyana’s Upstream Gas and Oil Policy.
Dr Daniel Wilde and Dr Ekpen Omonbude, economic advisers at the Oceans and Natural Resources Division of the Commonwealth Secretar-iat, yesterday met Minister of Governance with responsibility for Natural Resources and the Environment Raphael Trotman to discuss and begin work on the policy, which was crafted two years ago.
“We want to look at the fiscal arrangements for upstream petroleum activities to do two things: one is to assess it for its strengths and weaknesses and to strike the balance to get revenue and, if we find any weaknesses, to make recommendations as to what needs to be done in order to move forward. We would also like to examine the existing petroleum legislation and contracts and make comments and recommendations,” Dr Omonbude was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Ministry of the Presidency.
The statement noted that earlier this month, government had announced that it had invited the Commonwealth, which had helped in crafting the first policy, to return to the country so that the document could be upgraded, given the recent oil discovery by ExxonMobil.
Initially, the team was scheduled to return to Guyana in November for the new document to be drafted but decided to begin almost immediately since Trotman is expected to be out of the country during that period.
During the meeting, Dr Omonbude related that the upgrade to the policy would involve an analysis of the legislative, contractual and regulatory frameworks currently in place to see how best they can be improved to the benefit of the country.
Dr Wilde said the team will also be examining the resource management plan of the country as well as make suggestions and advising on the setting up of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), an initiative he praised the current government for pursuing.
“The setting [up] of a Sovereign Wealth Fund is very important. Many countries do not think about that in the initial stages and so it is good to see Guyana thinking about this and wanting to pursue it and we are ready to offer our assistance in this area,” Dr Wilde was quoted as saying.
The statement said Trotman, in brief remarks, welcomed the team and noted that while the work done on the previous policy was extensive, it is government’s belief that the policy should be ungraded to suit modern day changes, so that it can be properly implemented and enforced. He assured that coming out of the recommendations, if there is a need for legislative measures, these will be addressed.
According to the statement, the team will immediately begin its work and will be joined by a Legal Adviser from the Com-monwealth Secretariat today.
A meeting is planned for tomorrow with Trotman to provide an update on the work programme.
The Ministry recalled that work on the Upstream Oil and Gas Policy began in 2012 and was finalised and approved in the third quarter of 2014 by the former administration.
It said according to the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the policy envisions a strong, vibrant, and sustainable private sector-driven oil and gas industry, which will contribute significantly to Guyana’s socio-economic development.
The policy document represents Guyana’s attempt at setting out specific policy objectives and implementation measures for the exploration and potential development of upstream oil and gas resources found here, the statement said.
