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Guyana should establish National Oil Company – Suriname Oil Boss
Staatsolie’s CEO, Rudolf Elias
Kaieteur News – Given its aim to efficiently monitor and regulate the diverse and lucrative oil and gas sector, it would be good for Guyana to establish its own national oil company (NOC). Making this critical disclosure was Rudolf Elias, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of Suriname’s NOC, Staatsolie.
During his debut appearance on the Kaieteur Radio programme, Guyana’s Oil & You, the Suriname Oil Boss highlighted the importance and benefits of having a seat at the table with international oil companies. “Having someone on your team at this table,” he said, will provide the country with firsthand information on project costs, while keeping transactions transparent.
Elias explained, “They can’t inflate because we are there to see it and that is why I say Staatsolie should always have a seat at the table, because we want to know the costs of the different projects because it is the basis for the inflow the government will have.”
This, the CEO indicated, should form the foundation for establishing a NOC, equipped with competent, skilled individuals who can be a partner of choice for international oil companies, like ExxonMobil, Total or Tullow.
Against this he added, “The NOC is critical so you can partner with them and talk with them on equal terms and if they want to do ‘A’ you can challenge them. Why do you want to do A? Why not B? We can look out for our own interest to ensure the people of Suriname prosper; the people who should get the most out of it are the people of Suriname.”
Guyana should start building knowledge for a NOC, the Suriname Oil Boss said, because by paving the way for capacity building, countries make better deals with the international oil companies, as well as being able to better understand what they are doing. He added too that proper capacity building should be open to all agencies, and not exclusive to government ministries and institutions.
Elias had also stressed that the capacity to address commercial aspects of the oil industry must not be overlooked. Elias said, “The basis of dealing with the oil companies should always be commercial because at the end of the day, we must ensure that we get as much money as practically possible for the people; and the government should have policies guiding spending.”
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