Former government Petroleum Advisor Jan Mangal has questioned the operations of the firm that put in the lone bid for a component of the US$20 million World Bank-funded Guyana Petroleum Resources and Governance Management (GPRGM) project.
Two weeks ago, international consultancy firm on oil and gas, Bayphase of the United Kingdom tendered a US$281,000 bid to provide services to the Ministry of Natural Resources. The company was the lone bidder to provide consultancy services for an oil and gas (O&G) project which was not specified.
To this end, Mangal, on a post on his Facebook page, had queried if the firm had been hired for the cost recovery study of the Liza Phase 1 project.
Contacted, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman told Stabroek News that the bid falls under the GPRGM project. He did not say which component. The GPRGM project was formerly known as the Guyana Oil and Gas Capacity Building project. While the ministry is facilitating the administration aspect, the Department of Energy is the implementing agency.
The GPRGM project seeks to enhance legal and institutional frameworks and strengthen the capacity of key institutions to manage the oil and gas sector in Guyana.
It is not clear which of the four components of the project Bayphase has bid to undertake. According to the project documents, the project has three main components plus a separate component for project implementation. “Discussions have taken place with various stakeholders including government institutions, development partners, private sector and civil society representatives to inform the components and sub-components to be included in the project,” the project document says.
Component A relates to the enhancement of legal frameworks and stakeholder engagement. One sub-component will support the update of Guyana’s legal and regulatory frameworks for the management and oversight of the O&G sector while the other will support stakeholder engagement and transparency.
Component B aims to build institutional capacity and acquire the third-party expertise needed to enhance the Government of Guyana’s (GOG) capacity to effectively manage its O&G sector. The sub-components will support immediate technical and legal needs at key O&G institutions; support critical training needs at key O&G institutions; build up petroleum data management; and strengthen environmental and social management.
Meanwhile, Component C aims to enhance the GOG’s public finance management, macroeconomic and fiscal analytical capacity, and support the operationalisation of the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).
The final component, D, will support the GOG in managing and coordinating the GPRGM project and building its procurement, financial management, safeguards management, monitoring and evaluation capacity through the provision of technical advisory services, training, acquisition of goods, and operating costs.
Outcomes
Key outcomes for the project will be legal and regulatory acts for the O&G sector prepared under the project and submitted to Parliament; Guyana-Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative reports published and made publicly available, in accordance with internationally recognised transparency standards; results of a Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment publicly disclosed by the Government; annual reports compiled by Ministry of Finance (MOF) to inform the macro-economic committee of the SWF; and annual reports compiled by MOF to inform the investment committee of the SWF.
According to Mangal, he has not heard of Bayphase before “and their website does not show their team, but their LinkedIn page and Google has more info.”
According to Bayphase’s website, the company was founded in 1986 in the United Kingdom and online registration documents state that it was incorporated on 29 May 1986. An online check of the company’s registration shows that the firm is based at St Georges House, Knoll Road, Camberley, Surrey, in the UK.
Bayphase’s directors are Pamela and Patrick Eyre and Ivan Djokic. Pamela Eyre also acts as the company’s secretary. All the directors hold British citizenship.
The company’s website gives an overview of its operations and lists some of its clients and projects.
Among its clients are ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, Sacoil, BP, among others, while projects include Cost Recovery Audit for the Rovuma Basin Projects in Mozambique, Independent Assessment of License Areas and Fields in Libya, Expert Report License Areas 1, 2, 3 and 5 at Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Asset Evaluation Infrastructure Assessment and Iran Data Set.
A government official told Stabroek News that last month’s process was “only the tender opening process and not because one company bid it means that company would have won.”
“As with all bids, NPTAB (National Procurement and Tender Administration Board) rules and regulations have to be adhered to. I just said that it was only the tender opening process. You, I and I am sure, Mr Mangal, knows that when a tender has been opened there is an evaluation process and all of that. So I don’t know where anyone could have gotten this is a company already chosen,” the official, who requested anonymity, said.
“You put out a public call to bid, every company had an opportunity to bid, for some reason or the other, they did not bid. You cannot blame the government. What you want to do? For whatever reason, you cannot go and solicit like that. It has to be transparent. Every company has to get the same fair treatment. If the government talks to one, they talk to all. Maybe Gaffney and Cline decided they didn’t want to bid. If during the evaluation it is found that (they) don’t meet the requirement, regardless if they are the lone bidder, the project can go to a retender. There is nothing that has been said that this company has won the bid. I suggest you wait,” the official added.
Why not hire the well-known and most respected in the industry as “Guyana can afford to pay top dollar now for the best,” Mangal had asked. He mentioned Gaffney Cline & Associates, which had helped Trinidad uncover corruption at the state-owned Petrotrin.
“I recall the Ministry of Public Infrastructure hired a one-man show for their natural gas study, and that was a flop. And the Ministry of Natural Resources hired a firm to review the Field Development Plan for Liza Phase 1, but the choice was inappropriate. The firm could not even review the cost,” he added.
