Laws not enough to ensure good governance of oil sector- Dr. Trotz

May 12, 2025 News

…says strong enforcement, capacity building required

Kaieteur News- “We are at a terrible disadvantage in the sense that we don’t have the capacity to basically provide the level of oversight and the quality of oversight that is required.”

This is the view of Guyanese scholar, Dr. Ulric Trotz. During a recent episode of a monthly programme ‘Nation Building- Guyana 2030 and Beyond,’ the former University of Guyana lecturer highlighted the need for strict enforcement of laws and greater efforts in the area of capacity building to improve oversight and governance of the sector.

Laws not enough to ensure good governance of oil sector- Dr. Trotz

Former UG Lecturer, Dr. Ulric Trotz

Dr. Trotz said under the previous administration, the World Bank had provided a US$20 million loan to build technical capacity in the key areas required to ensure quality level of supervision of the country’s oil and gas operations.

The programme he referenced was approved in 2019 for the Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project (GPRGMP).

Its objective is to ensure the enhancement of legal and institutional frameworks and the strengthening of the capacity of key institutions to manage the oil and gas sector. When the new government took office in 2020, it received approval for the loan to be restructured.

Earlier this year, the government informed the National Assembly that it will be seeking another one-year extension to complete the US$20 million loan.

Dr. Trotz pointed to the importance of the country ensuring it has the necessary skills to provide the required oversight.

“One way of doing it as I just mentioned, is through smart partnerships basically to bring in that level of expertise and train your people on site; hands on training, developing local staff to have it and that is not enough. There must be the political will basically to ensure that what you require is basically put in place.”

Furthermore, he stressed that he has witnessed over the years, across the Caribbean that having laws in place is just not enough. To this end, he urged, “The more important thing is yes, they are in place but is there the political will basically to enforce. We (the Caribbean) are weak on enforcement.”

Dr. Trotz was the manager of the Regional Project Implementation Unit based in Barbados for the first climate change programme, the Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change (CPACC).

The calls for greater enforcement of legislation comes at a time when the regulator of the oil and gas sector, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been hauled before the courts for failing to ensure the Environmental Protection Act is adhered to by the oil companies in their local operations.

In a recent case relating to the massive Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project, the court ruled that the EPA acted ‘contrary to the law’ and ‘improper’, by granting a permit to ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) for the pipeline aspect of the project, but it did not quash the approval.

Previously, international lawyer, Melinda Janki pointed to the lax law enforcement by the agency. At the time, she pointed out that seven cases were filed against the agency established to regulate the industry.

“The fact is that this is not investment, it in Guyana, this is extractivism. This is a foreign company coming in and refusing to obey national law…if you don’t like national laws, then don’t come to Guyana but once you are here, you have to obey those laws,” Janki said.

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capacity building, Dr. Trotz, enforcement, Law, nation-building

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