Guyana urged to take lessons from oil-producing nations

Guyana’s management of its oil resources came up for discussion at the opening of the XXVI La Jolla Energy Conference in California with Director of Energy at the Inter-American Dialogue, Lisa Viscidi, saying that the major issue for the country was to avoid the problems other countries have experienced in its quest to take

advantage of the new find.

Speaking on a panel discussion entitled, “Trump Administration and Hemispheric Energy Police: Surveying US Energy Policymaking, Executive Orders, Boarder Adjustment Taxes and Regional Energy Trade”, Viscidi noted that Guyana should take lessons from oil-producing countries.

“I think the major issue is how they (Guyana) will manage the revenue. How are they going to manage the local industry (and) avoid some of the problems that other countries (experienced) and trying to take advantage of this new find without kind of messing it up.”

She also noted that she was unaware if the United States has a position on the border controversy with Guyana and Venezuela, but conceded that the issue has gotten more attention from the US Congress.

Viscidi told the conference that there were some members of the Western Hemisphere Sub-Committee that travel to South America and take an interest in energy issues.

“So, there might be some interest from that point of view. But for now, it’s not really clear what the US will do in terms of energy cooperation.”

According to the US State Department’ website, “Under the Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative (EGCI), the United States Government provides a range of technical and capacity building assistance as Guyana seeks to develop financial and regulatory regimes and address capacity issues that would maximise the development potential from offshore oil and gas resources.”

Added to the issue of oil and its management, Professor David Victor from the University of California, San Diego, noted that unresolved border issues can be a huge political problem and could be an area where the US Government can play a “very helpful role”.

“The key problem is how to manage the revenue from the oil,” Professor Victor said.

The XXVI La Jolla Energy Conference got underway on Wednesday in San Diego and brokered dialogue and debate on key energy and sustainability trends in the Americas. The conference brings together under one roof thought leaders, investors, Government officials together with leading industry players in intense dialogue and policy debate.

This year, a number of pressing issues on energy affecting Latin America were discussed. Among the major topics highlighted during discussions were “Latin America’s Upstream Prospects and Outlook”, “Latin America’s Renewable Energy Wave: Alternative Energy is No Longer Alternative”, “Brazil’s Energy and Political Reset”, “United States?Latin American Energy Cooperation”, “Stakeholder Engagement and the Exercise of Regulation: Balancing Oversight and Investment and the Social License to Operate”. (Tusika Martin)