Govt. now updates oil and gas data

Mar 09, 2024 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

Oil production data on the Ministry’s website has been updated.

Kaieteur News – The government of Guyana has now updated its Petroleum Management Programme’s Data Center, following a four-month delay in some instances.

On Sunday, Kaieteur News reported that the gas data for instance was not updated since October 31, 2023. Similarly, data on daily oil production was not updated to the portal since December 31, 2023.

This website provides key updates on the number of barrels of oil produced at the three operational projects- Liza One and Liza Two, and Payara- operations in the Stabroek Block, as well as the daily reported amount of gas produced, gas injected, flared gas and gas used for fuel. It also gives an overview on the Brent Crude prices and the amount of water produced and injected.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Natural Resources finally updated the website, following Kaieteur News’ article. Each of the respective graphs on the website has now been updated with information up to January 2024 and is now available to the public for scrutiny.

These key production data are critical to stakeholders to keep the government and the operator of the Stabroek Block accountable. The portal however has been faced with frequent challenges when it comes to timely updates on production data.

It was previously reported that the Data Centre was not receiving timely updates on Exxon’s flaring of gas in 2022, at a time when the company was experiencing mechanical difficulties with its equipment. This had sparked serious concern among stakeholders, who questioned the reason for delayed updates.

Kaieteur News was finally directed to the Petroleum Management website in 2022, amid pressure from transparency activists on the release of data relating to oil production here.

The failure by the Ministry of Natural Resources to however update the website defeats the purpose of the portal to keep Guyanese informed on the exploitation of the oil and gas resources. It also brings the government’s commitment to transparency into question.

Last November, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo issued a directive to the Ministry of Natural Resources to address the issues with the website. His call for action came after multiple reports by this newspaper about the pressing need to ensure transparency and reliable information sharing on the oil sector.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has been under scrutiny for some time due to the recurring problems with the website, especially its data centre. It was reported at that time there was incomplete and fragmented upload of oil production data for the months of August and September. Notably, data for August 31 and September 30 was conspicuously absent. In addition, the detailed breakdown of production, which is typically included in monthly updates, was missing in the September release. Clear and consistent data are essential for transparency advocates to assess the situation accurately and making informed judgments.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Data, oil, petroleum, updated, website

Latest News