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Pick me, choose me!
Banks, Int’l Advisors jostle for supremacy in Guyana’s budding Oil and Gas sector
When it comes to the oil and gas sector, the coalition Government is awash with opinions from various international advisors and financial institutions.
Proposals about what is best for Guyana are constantly being served up, with the expectation that the Government would view it favourably. Even reputable banks are part of this “pick me, choose me” competition for supreme managing spots in the oil sector.
In the face of all this, Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman says that day after day, the question for Government has been, “How do we manage all of them?”
On this note, the National Resources Minister went further to state, “On a daily basis, we receive offers and proposals for support, as well as advice and this takes time. Some become frustrated and feel that they are not being included. But it is impossible for us to take on board every bit of advice.”
The politician continued, “There is no doubt that there are experts scattered about the world who could give advice. Indeed, it is a national resource. We of course, have to look and see what is nationally acceptable…We are hoping, for example, that the financial institutions, perhaps led by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), can amongst themselves, help to compartmentalize (how they can all assist).”
Trotman added, “We get offers from various banks all wanting to tell us, ‘you need to take our advice.’ But what would be better is if the financial institutions can sit together and come up with a collective plan that would be best for Guyana, and say ‘We will do your Sovereign Wealth Fund, another will take care of governance issues, and then another offers technical support. But we are experiencing what appears to be competition in this regard.”
At the recently concluded Business Summit which was held by the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Trotman noted that the Government has a number of partners it is engaging on the oil and gas sector.
In this regard, he shared that the Government has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Chile, as well as one with the Government of Mexico.
Trotman explained that with respect to Mexico, that MOU speaks to the nation’s Petroleum Institute which is expected to provide Guyana with training and support in the development of its oil and gas preparation works.
Additionally, the Natural Resources Minister shared that the US State Department has an Energy Governance Capacity Initiative, of which Guyana is a member.
The politician noted, too, that the Government of Canada has offered support, which the APNU+AFC administration has taken into consideration. He stated that the Kingdom of Norway has also offered support through its development programme. Trotman said that the Government is working to bring that on stream.
The Natural Resources Minister noted that other partners include the European Union, Conservation International, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). (Kiana Wilburg)
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