Latest update May 25th, 2026 12:35 AM
Ministry continues to drop the ball with management of oil website
Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Natural Resources seems to be missing the mark when it comes to the management of its Petroleum Management Programme’s data center. This website is the official online avenue for disseminating information about Guyana’s oil and gas sector. Yet, continuous lapses in data management have stakeholders questioning the ministry’s commitment to transparency and accurate information sharing. It also remains to be seen whether the Ministry has anyone entrusted with the role of actively maintaining the information flow on the site.
The oil production data for the months of August and September have been uploaded, but in a fragmented manner. While data for most of the days in August was uploaded, the numbers relating to August 31 are missing. In a similar vein, the September data was uploaded partially. Normally, the monthly updates include a graph showing total oil production in the Stabroek block, along with another graph disaggregating the production from the Liza Destiny and the Liza Unity floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels. However, the September update only included data for the total production, and even on that front, the data for September 30 is missing.
This lapse comes at a time when more information is needed on the circumstances surrounding the drop in production at the Liza Destiny for months. Hess Corporation’s 2023 third quarter earnings report revealed that a mechanical issue had reduced production. Hess, a 30% co-venturer in the Stabroek block, announced that repairs were completed in October, and production is now in the range of 150,000 to 160,000 gross barrels of oil per day.
The issues are not new; the website has been problematic for a long time. It was only recently that the government introduced a new graph interface that corrected an issue that had rendered the data center unusable for over a month. But if the government does not make full use of the new interface to upload accurate, timely, and complete data, the impact of the new interface is blunted.
As Guyana prepares for first oil production at the Payara project, which is ramp up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day, the need for reliable data becomes even more critical. This new production will need to be integrated into the existing data alongside those of the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity.
The deficiencies do not stop at production data. The Petroleum Management Program website is also missing years of well activities data. The last available information is about the Turbot-2 well announced by ExxonMobil in September 2021. Since then, ExxonMobil has drilled over 15 exploration and appraisal wells. Additionally, data on CGX Energy’s Kawa and Wei wells and Repsol’s Beebei Potaro well are conspicuously absent.
Despite a report by this newspaper over a month ago about the missing well activities data, there has been no movement from the Ministry of Natural Resources to correct the deficiency.
With oil and gas playing a significant role in Guyana’s development, stakeholders expect the government to prioritize the maintenance of platforms that are meant to inform the public. Stakeholders see it as crucial for the government to ensure that these platforms that are meant to inform the public operate flawlessly.
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