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Guyana tries to grip relationship with Norway
Guyana considers its relations with the Kingdom of Norway to be very valuable. Therefore, the Government of Guyana is trying its best to “see how things can be worked out.”
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman
The relationship between Norway and Guyana has not been optimum over the last few years.
Last year, Norway refused Guyana’s application to get assistance from its Oil for Development (OfD) programme. Guyana had sent its application for the programme to be extended here and was rejected. But the government announced nothing.
Last Thursday, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, said that the government will try its best to hold on to its relationship with Norway.
He said that Guyana recently received “a very good report on our monitoring and verification (in the forestry sector) from Norway.”
“I believe there are concerns not in so far as the conservation of the forest, because as I said, the report was good. Norway is concerned about the fact that we may use our natural gas. But Government, if we at all use natural gas, will only utilise it as transition facility,” said Trotman.
Trotman said that Guyana continues to weigh its options for the use of natural gas but would still hope to maintain friendship with Norway. “We believe it is a very valuable relationship which we would want to maintain,” he said.
This newspaper understands that the government’s intention to use natural gas comes across as a boycott to renewable energy which is what the Amaila project or any other hydro project would have secured.
The Minister said, “We indeed applied for the programme to be extended to Guyana. Earlier in the year I got a letter advising me that NORAD, the international aid agency, was unable to extend the programme to Guyana at the current time but would do so when the opportunity arose.”
NORAD is the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. Trotman said that NORAD offered no reason for the rejection.
With the scramble to prepare for first oil, Guyana is indeed in need of programmes such as the OfD which is offered to about 36 oil producing countries around the world. The OfD programme offers assistance to developing countries in their effort to manage petroleum resources in a sustainable manner.
The operative goal of the OfD programme is “economically, environmentally and socially responsible management of petroleum resources which safeguards the needs of future generations”.
Last year, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, said that the government is still toiling to justify the release of US$80M from Norway. That money was originally intended for hydropower development.
Norway has not committed to the release of US$80 million which the previous PPP/C government had intended to use for the Amaila Falls Hydro project.
Upon the assuming Office in 2015, the Coalition Government announced that it was going to reassess the feasibility of proceeding with the Amaila project. Guyana and Norway then agreed to a reassessment study to be done by Norconsult AS of Norway. Based on the findings, Government then decided to shelve building the dam at Amaila.
In an effort not to lose the US$80 million, the government has been negotiating with Norway.
Harmon said that the government has been trying its best to meet the demands of Norway. He revealed that Norway had requested copies of the Green State Development Strategy and Guyana’s Energy Transition Roadmap. Both were provided. Harmon noted, “These are additional to what governs the Guyana-Norway partnership.
Further, Government has advanced the work on all aspects of the joint concept notes, “some examples being the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), the European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (EU-FLEGT) and the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Harmon said that Guyana even committed to move completely to renewable energy by 2025. However, Norway apparently had an issue with natural gas being under the classification of renewable energy.
Harmon said that Guyana sent a letter to Norway’s Minister of Environment on Wednesday, requesting consideration of a meeting of the Environment Ministers at the earliest time convenient.
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