[www.inewsguyana.com] – As part of government’s preparations for the oil and gas sector, efforts to engage international partners and countries continue.
Last week, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud met with a mission from Bureau of Energy Resources of the U.S. Department of State which were represented by Director Paul F. Hueper and Deputy Director, Nicole Gibson of the Office of Energy Programs, to further assist Guyana in the development of its technical capacity of the oil and gas sector.
According to media release from the Minister, Minister Persaud noted that the Government of Guyana has been working with the U.S. Department of State since 2010 on human resources development for the potential hydrocarbon sector, through various workshops and seminars.
It was noted that the Guyana government must determine how they will manage the sector by looking at the various options and models.
“The Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative (EGCI) can assist in determining the best governance option for Guyana. The ideal situation is to govern by legalization where petroleum revenues are separate and not available for normal usages,” the media release noted.
It further stated that Guyana is currently seeking to undertake a study which will determine the best model for the development of a sovereign wealth fund type system.
Minister Persaud pointed out that the first step must be to develop the governance and regulatory framework which will support the growth of the sector in the long term.
“Every country must have its own model for the development and management of this sector. The ECGI will work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission on the implementation mechanism for addressing the various issues of capacity development. The fields of work will be in drill well in deep-water areas and well test evaluation (productivity test) which will continue into the second half of 2015.”
The Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative (EGCI) is a U.S. Department of State-led, U.S. interagency effort to provide a wide range of technical and capacity building assistance to the host governments of select countries that are on the verge of becoming the world’s next generation of oil and gas producers.
The countries receiving EGCI assistance have world class hydrocarbon resource potential and expect to receive sizable, near term financial windfalls from the development of their oil and gas resources.
EGCI’s core objective is to help these countries establish the capacity to manage their oil and gas sector resources responsibly.
