Petroleum advisory panel to be formed – oil adviser

…as ExxonMobil is to make more announcements shortly – Trotman

While a petroleum advisory panel is not presently in place, Government intends to form the panel within the Natural Resources Ministry, comprising technical experts in the oil industry.

This is according to Presidential Adviser on Petroleum, Dr Jan Mangal, who briefed Cabinet on the future of the oil and gas sector in Guyana.

In an invited comment after the presentation to the Cabinet, Dr Mangal said, as the adviser to the President on petroleum, he would be tasked with being the ‘middle ground’ between the Government and stakeholders to ensure that the necessary plans and policies were put in place.

 Dr Mangal, whose appointment is funded through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), noted that while his initial position was intended to last for a six-month period, there was an intention to seek funding for the appointment to be extended and expanded to include other experts from the technical, legal and commercial areas of the oil and gas sector.

“I envision a small team in the Ministry – about five or less, and this is a team of experts from the industry and they will be there to assist the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Finance and to also work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.

“So, under that five, there will be a commercial oil and gas expert, an oil and gas lawyer, an analyst and possibly a technical person, but these will be persons who have been in the industry for a very long time, who know the industry very well and who are prepared to come and advise the Government of Guyana,” the Presidential Adviser said.

Additionally, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, in an invited comment, said that Dr Mangal’s presentation could not be timelier since oil major ExxonMobil has been aggressively carrying out seismic and exploratory work in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with an announcement expected in another week or two. This, he said, will help the Cabinet to act more definitively on matters in relation to this sector.

 “The presentation was about the technical aspects, where we would spend our monies and the kind of vision we would like to have for Guyana. So, it was a good presentation, very timely and now I believe that Cabinet will examine it some more and look at the considerations – some of which are political, some technical, some financial and we will ultimately come up with the blueprint if I can put it that way for the development of the oil and gas sector,” he said.

 According to Trotman, Government is working around the clock to put all systems in place to prepare Guyana for the ‘first oil’. “We are preparing every day at the Ministry and Dr Mangal is joining the Government to prepare for the ‘first oil’ and so there is something happening every day. We are looking at contracts, identifying persons to do things, assessing requests for permits. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), they are all working,” he said.

Oil and Gas Conference

Meanwhile, the Guyana Oil and Gas Association (GOGA) has been hosting presentations featuring international experts on the oil and gas industry.

During a GOGA-sponsored conference and exposition at the Marriott Hotel on Tuesday, presenters expounded on the need for response vessels capable of dealing with the effects of an oil spill before it reached the coastland. Presenters also explained the intricacies of support-based services to the offshore drill operation. In addition, it was explained that if authorities were to allow a company to provide marine services to the location, it should be a company of established repute.

According to the experts, the companies should also provide value to the community they work in, as well as the locals. One way to do this, the experts noted, is by making training opportunities available.