Govt says oil resources will aid environmental protection plan

Protection of the country’s environment is of paramount importance to Government, especially in the context of Guyana becoming an oil-producing country and the attendant risk of an oil spill, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman said on Wednesday.
As such, Government has committed to using the revenue from the development of oil to advance the preservation of the environment. Trotman said Guyana must be known not as an oil-producing nation but as a nation that used its resources to protect its environment which includes people and the communities.
Addressing a stakeholder consultation on the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan,

Trotman said that there was no rush as there was enough time to properly plan and ensure that the right mechanisms were in place for the sector. However, he said the process has started and Guyana would be fully prepared in 2020.
Speaking specifically about the plan, Trotman said that there was a possibility that Guyana may encounter an oil spill at some stage of its life as an oil-producing nation and that was mainly why plans were being made in this regard. The plan is being crafted with the support of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).
The Minister explained that this fell directly under Government’s National Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) which prioritised the protection and preservation of the environment for current and future generations. That strategy sets out guidelines for protection of the entire coastal area.
“…where fishing and farming are conducted as well as our water resources, both freshwater and the offshore marine environment which make up our Exclusive Economic Zone. This overarching strategy provides our most significant commitment to the preservation of our environment in tandem with the development of our resources,” he told attendees at the consultation.  Given the massive oil finds over the past year with the initial reserve estimate of 800 million barrels of oil equivalent moving to 3.2 billion barrels and counting, Trotman said with every new find, the importance of a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan took on an even more important role.
“While as a Government, we are cognisant of the potential risks which come with developing this new-found petroleum resource we are equally committed to the protection of our environment and Guyana continues to be a fierce proponent for its protection internationally,” he asserted.
Reference was made to Guyana becoming a member of the UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and a signatory to the IMO’s International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC) in 1998. “I am aware that the IMO guidelines have been a driving force in the design of this National Oil Spill Contingency Plan,” he added. In 2010, Guyana acceded to the Cartagena Convention and all three of its protocols, including the one concerning combating oil spills in the Caribbean.
Support mobilisation has already begun since 2017 with the procurement of four containers of oil spill response equipment and accessories including booms, skimmers, and dispersant. These are presently stored at the CDC’s Alternate National Emergency Operations Centre at Timehri and will soon be pre-positioned at various locations to facilitate ease in deployment should the need arise.