Category: The Road to First Oil

The Prospecting Licence and the Production Licence under the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act

Introduction

Much is being made of the world class calibre of the advisers to the Granger Administration and Minister Raphael Trotman as they construct a path to First Oil in 2020. None of them apparently has told Messrs Granger and Trotman that the first steps should have been the adoption of a Petroleum policy, the urgent revision of the petroleum laws and the establishment of a team of skilled individuals with knowledge, competence, integrity and capacity to engage the oil men.

Oil is of course serious business, involves big dollars and is full of messy, technical details. At the end of the day however, it is about negotiations, understanding one’s strength and exploiting the other person’s weaknesses. Of course, the other side would be doing the same and it will boil down to who has the chips, the guts and the skill. Let us leave the world class experts to advise the Government. We need to get on with our work.

Today’s column sets out the provisions of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act relating to the two licences which operators may apply for. The licences are a Prospecting Licence and a Production Licence, a prerequisite of which is an agreement between an applicant and the Minister under the powers vested and subject to the duties imposed under section 10 of the Act. The Agreement covers both types of licences but each is in turn subject to its own conditions. Continue reading “Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded (Part 13)”

Today we conclude our review of the Petroleum Commission Bill which was begun last week in Part 10. Readers will recall the critical review and adverse comments on the composition and appointment of the Chairman and the eight members of the Board of the Commission who will serve for mere one-year periods after which they may or may not be reappointed. It is instructive to note that under the Ghana Petroleum Commission Act on which the Guyana Bill has been patterned, directors are appointed for three years! Continue reading “Every man, woman and child in Guyana must become oil-minded (Part 11)”

The contract confidentiality debate

The petroleum contracts signed with oil companies has featured prominently in public discussions and letters in the print media during this week. In fact, a letter in the Stabroek News on Wednesday by Mr. Ramon Gaskin calling for disclosure of the oil contracts provoked an immediate response by Minister Raphael Trotman who wrote that the Government has received expert opinions and advice against publication. The difference between the two gentlemen is around the language of section 4 of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act.

Mr. Gaskin is adamant that the language of the law is clear and accused the Government of peddling inaccurate information to the public. For his part, the Minister describes the Act as “somewhat ambiguous” and that it should be interpreted in a manner that prevents publication. Continue reading “Every man, woman and child in Guyana must become oil-minded (Part 10)”

The absence of or rather failure to appoint inspectors and a Chief Inspector was highlighted in last week’s column. The seriousness of that failure lies in the fact that the Chief Inspector is the person with direct responsibility for the administration of the sector, to manage the oil companies, so to speak. The last Administration failed to do so for around twenty years and cannot use as an excuse that oil was not a big deal then. After all, thousands of hectares of potentially mineral rich resources offshore were given out to oil companies which by law should be supervised by the Chief Inspector and inspectors appointed by the Minister. The exploration phase is admittedly light on expenditure but it does give operators exclusive right to carry out prospecting activities in the blocks for which they receive a prospecting licence.

It was therefore careless in the extreme that even after the establishment of a natural resources ministry, the PPP/C made no such appointment. Of course, that gave the Minister extensive influence over the oil operators, which was probably the objective. Then came the APNU+AFC Coalition which has also failed to act a full two years after a significant oil discovery with the likelihood of more to come! Continue reading “Every man, woman and child in Guyana must become oil-minded (Part 9)”