Guyana's Ministry of Natural Resources says it is planning to have a new Petroleum Directorate established and functioning within Q1 this year.
The move comes as the South American country eyes its first offshore oil production, following ExxonMobil's Liza and Payara discoveries on the giant deep water Stabroek Block.
Guyana's Ministry of Natural resources says the new directorate follows follows international models which separate policy development from regulation monitoring.
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, says: “We now need to start preparing and using the opportunity (of)2017-2020 when we hope to start producing, to put things in place, as many of the things as possible.”
A GY$200.7million budget has been allocated in the 2017 for petroleum management. This will be used for renting a building to house the Directorate, procurement of equipment and furnishing.
“We expect by the first quarter of this year we would have had persons hired but the intention is not to have everyone in place immediately,” Trotman said.
Meanwhile, the government is also developing legislation to govern the emerging oil and gas sector. “Legislation is already in circulation for a petroleum regulatory commission,” Trotman said.
The government has been updating and drafting policies and legislation that will govern the new sector, including an oil and gas policy, revised Petroleum Act and regulations, local content policy and regulations, petroleum commission bill, petroleum taxation and fiscal legislation, a health, safety and environment (HSE) regulations and a bill to provide for sovereign wealth/generational savings, stabilization, infrastructural, social welfare and citizens participation fund.
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