Home News World Bank project: Over 2 dozen experts helping Guyana build oil &...
…EPA exceeds target for staff trained by int’l experts
There are over two dozen experts currently aiding Guyanese Government agencies and other bodies with building capacity to oversee the oil and gas sector as of this year, as part of an ongoing World Bank project.
The project is entitled the “Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project” and it has been in place since April 2019. Under the project, Guyana was allocated a US$20 million loan. So far, the World Bank said that 45 per cent of this loan has been used.
It is scheduled to come to an end next year, but during the period in which the project has been in place, it has seen success in several areas ranging from improving capacity to reducing gender gaps.
“Intermediate Results Indicators show good progress, with four (out of nine intermediate level indicators) considered ‘on-track’… two are ‘partially on track’, one is ‘off track’, and two more (related to support to the MoF) are ‘off track’ but will be dropped during restructuring as they will no longer be relevant following the reallocation of Component C resources from MoF support to NRF capacity building support,” the World Bank said in the project’s Implementation Status and Results Report.
One of the areas that have seen significant progress is the hiring of experts to work along with Guyanese regulators and offer on the job training to better equip them to monitor and regulate the oil and gas sector. According to the World Bank, as of June 2023, the intermediate level indicator for this project has been met.
The hiring of 30 such advisors by June 30, 2025 was targeted. As of June 15, 2023, 29 advisors have been hired, to “support key institutions with responsibility for oil and gas to address critical and immediate technical needs and provide on-the-job training to instrumental staff on key issues such as geology, economics and fiscal modelling, accounting, audit and reservoir engineering.”
Another area that has shown improvement is equipping the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do its vital job as a regulator. According to the report, the end target was to have seven staff at the EPA trained to oversee the oil and gas sector through access to international expertise and training. However, nine staff have been trained as of June 15, 2023, through this component of the project.
“As of June 2023, the intermediate level indicator has been met. Consultancy executed by the project resulted in the identification of capacity gaps at the EPA. This led to the EPA implementing training sessions to address these gaps,” the World Bank said.
Meanwhile, gender gaps in the management tiers of the industry have also been addressed since the inception of the project. Starting from a 2019 baseline of just four women in management and leadership positions at key institutions overseeing the oil and gas sector, that number has now been increased to seven as of June 15, 2023. The end target by June 30, 2025, is eight.
“This indicator tracks to what extent the gender gap in management and leadership positions (exist). As of June 2023, the gap has significantly narrowed as a result of the training/intervention provided during project implementation,” the World Bank noted.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has been providing opportunities to ensure Guyana builds capacity to manage the oil and gas sector… opportunities that have even extended to the private sector.
The Government had organised a consortium of local auditors including Ramdihal and Haynes Chartered Accounting, as well as Vitality Accounting, to partner with an international firm on the second Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) cost oil audit of expenses totalling US$9 billion. (G3)
