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Guyana operating without oil regulator for almost 2 years
– more transparent and accountable govt. needed – Int’l Analyst
By Kiana Wilburg
Kaieteur News – As world leaders take steps to wean their respective energy systems off fossil fuels and onto cleaner sources of power such as solar, hydro and wind, there are quite a few things Guyana can do to ensure its petroleum industry is uniquely qualified to stand the test of time.
International Energy Consultant, Arthur Deakin
In this regard, Energy Consultant and Co-Director at Americans Market Intelligence (AMI), Arthur Deakin posits that Guyana can pursue a diversified economy in a proactive and thorough manner. Deakin said too that the new oil producing State can ensure there is an efficient blend of oil and gas production with Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilisation (CCSU) technologies.
He was keen to note however that the foregoing strategies must be accompanied by “a more transparent and accountable government.” Although the ruling party has bashed the previous administration’s Natural Resource Fund law for being too politicised, Deakin said the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has failed to introduce legislation to create a new fund. He also noted that the Petroleum Commission to manage the country’s oil sector is yet to become a reality despite the country producing oil for nearly two years.
Deakin asserted that President Irfaan Ali appears to have recognised the urgency of the situation, as he recently pledged to create the Petroleum Commission by year’s end. As he lauded the government’s renewed promise, he said the government must take steps to be more transparent. He said too that the way forward for the country must include incentives for CCSU, renewable energy and nature-based solutions. “The path is being charted for Guyana to become an energy powerhouse, but without these strategies, it ‘is more likely than not’ that it will be left behind in this rapidly changing energy sector,” the international consultant noted.
ALI INSISTS ON TRANSPARENCY
On the 2020 election campaign, President Ali had promised that the oil sector would be characterised from end to end by transparency. In spite of this pledge, this newspaper had highlighted that following his first year in office, an information deficit still persists in the sector.
President, Irfaan Ali
To date, Guyanese have not seen a single Local Content Report, which ExxonMobil submits to the government on a quarterly basis, production reports on the Stabroek Block have not been released, and the report on the audit of US$460M ExxonMobil claims was spent pre-2015 in search of oil remains cloaked in secrecy. Also hidden from the public’s eye despite a promise that it would be released, is a report that was done by Canadian consultant, Alison Redford. The former politician who is tainted by scandals regarding the misappropriation of tax dollars had spearheaded the review of the Field Development Plan (FDP) for ExxonMobil’s US$9B Payara project in the Stabroek Block.
Challenged on the lack of transparency in this regard, Ali had said earlier this month, “I do not believe that we have been hiding anything as it relates to the oil and gas sector. Every piece of information that the government has, every discussion we have had, any change in any agreement, it has been shared with the public.”
Ali continued, “Many of the areas you outlined, the government itself is identifying technically competent support staff that would come on stream with us in the new structure, which we are designing for the sector to do the analysis in all the areas you have outlined and to present their findings to the population.”
The Head of State added, “We recently advertised for various posts within the unit and it is our hope that very soon, we can put together the structure and the team to further enhance our work in having an open and transparent system of management and information sharing in the oil and gas sector.”
Ali said too that his government is currently working on a website, which would house all the production, expenditure, and revenue collection details on the oil sector. He gave no timelines for when this would be completed or when the reports Kaieteur News enquired about would be released.
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