World Bank partners with Guyana for new oil sector

A high-level five-member team from the World Bank is currently visiting Guyana to explore the possibilities of partnering with Guyana on the oil and gas sector.
The team met with the acting President, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, to hold discussions on the sector.
Led by Regional Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean region, Jorge Familiar, the World Bank has assured support to Guyana in capacity building as the country prepares for first oil.
The visit is part of a simultaneous ongoing engagement with Guyana in several sectors.
Others on the team included Regional Director Tahseen Sayed; Country Manager for Guyana and Jamaica, Galina Sotirova; Regional Programme Leader Abha Prasad; and Operations Officer Federico Baechili.
Familiar shared the recent dismal experiences of a few regional states that depended on oil wealth, and stressed that Guyana would need solid governance systems to avoid pitfalls and to protect and beneficially spend anticipated revenues.
In welcoming the team to Guyana, Nagamootoo referred to the Green Paper for a Natural Resources Fund, which was tabled in the National Assembly, and the crafting of a Green State Development Strategy to provide a generational vision for the future oil-producing Guyana. He noted that the Fund policy is underlined by stringent fiscal rules to guide the use of petroleum resources.
Tahseen Sayed remarked that towards this end, the World Bank has approved a US$35 million development policy credit to better prepare the country to benefit from its oil and gas reserves, and to support Guyana’s efforts to strengthen financial sector development and fiscal management.
The World Bank team is expected to meet other key Government officials and other stakeholders.