AG’s Chambers lack expertise to fine tune oil laws - Hughes

AG’s Chambers lack expertise to fine tune oil laws – Hughes

Apr 02, 2019 News

Prominent Attorney-at-law, Nigel Hughes, is of the firm view that the Attorney General’s Chambers does not have the expertise to fine-tune the technical laws needed for the oil sector. As such, he is recommending that some serious restructuring take place.
Hughes said, “Clearly there has to be a restructuring of how we approach legislation. The Attorney General’s Chambers would not be equipped to provide the level of specialized knowledge that is needed not only in oil and gas, but in many areas which are required for the preparation of robust international accepted best practices.”

Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes

The Attorney-at-law added, “In the Communications sector, for example, I don t think they have the expertise for that. So clearly we have to revise the structure that exists, so that in each of these ministries they have highly qualified legal persons who can advise the Minister and department heads.”
Hughes said that Guyana has long gone past the era where the Attorney General’s Chambers can be everything to everyone. He categorically stated that it does not have the capacity to fulfill such a role.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has also called for Guyana to improve its approach towards legislative reform as it relates to the oil sector.
In fact, the Government of Guyana received a crucial report from the UNDP in 2016, which outlined the legislative and institutional weaknesses that would affect the success of the emerging oil sector.
Three years later, there has been no movement from the government on the report that was written by Anthony Paul, Principal Consultant of the Association of Caribbean Energy Specialists Ltd.
The report notes that there are several laws and regulations, which need updating. These include: the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission Act; the Mining Act; the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, No. 3 of 1986; the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act Regulations, 1986; the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, 1998, Chapter 65:10; the Environmental Protection Act; and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 99:01.
In the report, Paul said that the legislative and institutional frameworks in Guyana are, not surprisingly, unprepared for managing the petroleum sector in its current phase of development. The Principal Consultant said that both the legislative and institutional frameworks and their component parts are critical for successful management of the resource. He opined that given the pace of change, Guyana is at risk of losing very significant value unless the gaps identified are closed rapidly.

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