Latest update March 25th, 2025 7:08 AM
Latest News
- Surinamese invest US$516M into country’s first oil project
- ExxonMobil impact study for Hammerhead project silent on likely explosion from new pipeline
- ‘A shocking breach’: Trump officials leak military attacks to The Atlantic
- Pensioner goes missing during creek outing at Kwakwani
- Cuban national jailed for entering Guyana illegally
Suriname offers help to set up national oil company
CEO of Suriname’s Staatsolie, Rudolf Elias.
Kaieteur News – If Guyana sees the need to establish a national oil company (NOC), which would be aimed at monitoring and regulating its oil and gas sector, then Suriname says it is willing to offer its support to achieve that goal. Rudolf Elias, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Suriname’s NOC, Staatsolie, revealed this support during his interview on Kaieteur Radio’s, Guyana’s Oil and You.
On the January 4 interview, Elias highlighted how Suriname is able to challenge and question the millions in costs handed to it by international oil companies, while nothing how this was made possible through the establishment of Staatsolie.
“It is so important to have a seat at the table,” the Suriname Oil Boss explained, “because if you have a seat at the table you have somebody who is actually on the project team that is developing the development. You know firsthand what the costs are. You have a firsthand insight of all the contracts that they gave away.
We know exactly what the costs are so they can never inflate the cost that we have because we have a seat at the table. We have a seat at the table so we know everything that is happening.”
This, the CEO highlighted, should form the basis for Guyana to establish its own NOC, equipped with competent, skilled individuals who can be a partner of choice for international oil companies, like United States ExxonMobil, French’s Total or British’s Tullow.
The Suriname Oil Boss also advised that Guyana should start building knowledge for a NOC, as he indicated that by paving the way for capacity building, countries make better deals with the international oil companies. He added too, that this positions NOCs to be able to better understand what international oil companies are doing on projects.
Proper capacity building, Elias advised, 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.”
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Desecration, Disrespectful, and Disgraceful
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The solemnity of Babu Jaan, a site meant to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Cheddi... more
The Caribbean: Destined to Grin and Bear the Consequences of Its Self-Created Vulnerabilities?
By Sir Ronald Sanders For decades, many Caribbean nations have grappled with dependence on a small number of powerful countries... more
Weekend Cartoon
