Guyana’s oil & gas industry is one of the better-managed industries – Jagdeo

Despite criticisms of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration’s management of the oil and gas industry, Guyana’s oil and gas industry is said to be one of the best-managed industries globally.
The country has made significant progress in this sector, and this has been supported by various reports from reputable international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the international community.
At an end-of-year press conference, General Secretary of the PPP, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, highlighted several measures put in place by the Government to ensure the proper management of the lucrative sector.
For instance, Government established a Local Content Act which paved the way for hundreds of Guyanese to participate, even though oil and gas companies were not in favour of local content. It was enacted in 2021 following vigorous consultations with players in the industry.
“Let me tell you the assessment of a lot of people, including the oil and gas executives. When they come and see the levels of investment and participation of Guyanese, they don’t believe it,” the GS informed media operatives as he noted that the act is unprecedented in such an early period.
The Government also reformed the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) to ensure transparency and accountability in its oversight, and it is a model in many parts of the world for transparency and oversight, the General Secretary pointed out.
“We have a strong mechanism for the Natural Resources Fund now,” he highlighted at the press conference.
Additionally, the Petroleum Activities Act of 1986 was updated, and in 2023, the Ministry of Natural Resources hosted an auction for its remaining oil blocks offshore Guyana. This move ensured that the first-come-first-served model was set aside, giving other interested stakeholders a fair chance.
“We’ve reformed our PSA; we’ve dealt with almost the whole industry. So, it’s a model management despite what you hear…it’s one of the better-managed industries in any part of the world. We have strengthened our environmental permits to a point where we are way ahead of the world in terms of ending flaring. So, great progress in that sector,” he added.
Guyana also boasts being one of the first countries in the world to enter into a major deal for the sale of its high-quality carbon credits to oil giant Hess Corporation.
Back in 2022, the Guyana Government signed a multi-year agreement for the sale of high-quality carbon credits to United States energy major Hess Corporation to the tune of a whopping US$750 million – a significant portion of which will be injected into the development of Indigenous communities across the country.
This deal comes on the heels of Guyana being the first country to receive certification of over 33 million carbon credits by the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) on December 1, 2022. That issuance of the REDD+ jurisdictional carbon credits paved the way for the sale agreement by Hess Corp Chief Executive Officer John Hess.
During the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jagdeo had revealed that Guyana has the potential to raise at least US$2.5 billion from its carbon credits over the next 10 years.
The Vice President was at the time addressing a COP28 panel discussion held under the theme “Protecting Nature for Climate, Lives, and Livelihoods.” He also shared the stage with Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others, in attendance and making presentations.
In his presentation, Jagdeo noted the distinction Guyana has earned through its US$750 million carbon credits deal with Hess Corporation, of being the only forest in the world with jurisdictional scale forest certification.
He further noted the potential to raise US$2.5 billion over the next 10 years by tapping into favourable market upsides.