Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Column 127
Introduction
Yesterday’s column addressed three Guarantee and Indemnity Agreements (GIA) granted by the oil companies to the Environmental Protection Agency. These we are told are to provide some assurance to Guyana that there is money available to deal with any environmental events or accidents arising from petroleum operations under the 2016 Petroleum Agreement.
On environmental matters, petroleum operations in Guyana must be conducted in accordance with the requirements of that Agreement, and the Environmental Permits issued to the oil companies under the Environmental Protection Agency Act (EPA). It must not be forgotten too that the 2016 Agreement was issued under the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act of 1986 (PEPA) which has its own Regulations, also addressing environmental issues. Not surprisingly, however it is the EPA which came some ten years after the PEPA which is the main environmental protection and regulation statute. And just for completeness, the Constitution has elevated the citizens’ right to an environment that is not harmful to his or her health or well-being – a negative right rather than a positive right to a healthy environment.