Guyana’s emerging oil sector…Training, independent regulatory body critical – Consultant

Jan 22, 2017 News

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Rob Strong, President of Canadian-based Consultancy firm, Rob Strong and Associates, was in Guyana last week assisting the Guyana Oil and Gas Association (GOGA) with the planning and execution of a public lecture series which is expected to commence sometime in March of this year.
His trip to Guyana comes several months after his first visit last year which entailed a period of exchanges relating to the establishment of the GOGA. Back then, he came as an expert and adviser.
Kaieteur News caught up with Strong at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, where he shared some insights drawing from his almost four decades of experience in the oil and gas industry.
The consultant said that there is a lot of optimism emanating from oil companies when ExxonMobil announced the presence of high quality oil at its Liza-2 well in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.
Strong said that a new wave of excitement was triggered on January 12, 2017, when the US Company made another announcement of positive results from its Payara-1 well, also located in the Stabroek Block. Exxon had stated that in addition to the Payara discovery, appraisal drilling at Liza-3 has identified an additional high quality, deeper reservoir directly below the Liza field, which is estimated to contain between 100-150 million oil equivalent barrels.
The Consultant labelled Guyana as the “new frontier” which is garnering a lot of attention, as is evident in the many trade-oriented articles being published every day, both in the print and online media.
He was asked specifically about his views with regards to Guyana’s preparation stage and what was required at this juncture, to ‘get our house in order’.
“What you guys need, amongst others things, is a clear seat of guidelines. You know, to say what the regulations are, what the expectations are, and what the realities are,”
Fast track education and training
Strong also emphasised the importance and the dire need to fast track enhanced education and training.
“You’re not going on a rig either Exxon or Hess or Nexen or any oil company where safety is number one, unless you’re properly trained. Whether it’s a wielder, pipe-fitter, or even a catering position. So the onus is on the government and the people. This is your oil not Exxon’s however, your Government cannot go to Exxon and say hire 20 persons unless they’re properly trained,”
He pointed out that Newfoundland, Canada – his homeland, some 40 years ago, was at the stage where Guyana is right now when oil was discovered there.
“We went through the same thing in Newfoundland forty years ago when I started. We thought that hey, we’re Newfoundlanders, we’re gonna get jobs on the rigs – well sorry! We had to be trained. Training is critical! Exxon, in my estimation, will be producing 100,000 barrels of oil a day. It’s a high risk; you got to be properly trained. “ Strong emphasised.
Independent regulatory body
Strong also stressed the importance of an independent regulatory body which is free from political interference.
“You can’t have the politicians monitoring this body. I’m very encouraged to hear that Guyana is moving very quickly in this regard,”
“I have heard that Guyana is modelling its regulatory body around the NPD – Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, and I’ve been to Norway 30, 40 times in the past two decades, and if you want to see a country that does it right – it’s Norway.”
Strong said that it is customary that when people hear about offshore drilling, oil spills come come to mind.
“But it can be done right, and Norway of all oil-producing areas that I know of, has done it right. They have a strong and a forceful regulatory body. They do it right because they care about their environment. Even if you walk up several streets you will notice that they are clean. People actually care about their environment .You don’t get these spills in Norway and if you do, heads roll. It comes down to a strong regulatory body. The Guyana Government should look at Norway,” Strong said in conclusion.
In November last year, Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi, leader of Nigeria’s Ogale people sued Royal Dutch Shell in a London Court for what the leader described as “decades of oil spills”.
Okpabi reportedly unpacked four bottles of water from his homeland and lined them up on a table to show why his subjects are suing the company.
Reports emanating from Africa and several parts of the United Kingdom (UK), state that the Nigerian water is contaminated with oil and cancer-causing compounds such as benzene.
Lawyers for more than 40,000 Nigerians took their fight to Shell’s home base because they claim that the Nigerian courts are too corrupt.

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