–Rystad Energy Senior Vice-President praises gov’t efforts to successfully manage its burgeoning O&G sector
GUYANA has taken diligent steps in the right direction to successfully manage its burgeoning oil-and-gas sector, and avoid the curses of the 20th Century, said Senior Vice- President and Head of Latin America for Rystad Energy, W. Schreiner Parker.
He made these remarks during a presentation of a study by the company titled, “Guyana’s Upstream Industry and Country Benchmarking Update” at the Roraima Duke Lodge on Thursday.
During his presentation, Parker told the gathering, which included members of the business community and private sector, that one thing that has continuously been brought up when talking about the new and emerging oil-and-gas countries like Guyana is the “resource curse”.
However, he expressed that Guyana, along with major oil company ExxonMobil, have taken necessary and diligent steps to avoid the problems of the 20th Century, and can be looked at as a model case for the 21st Century.
“And, really, Guyana could be the test case for the 21st Century when it comes to making sure that the resource is actually benefiting the owners of this resource, which are, of course, the Guyanese people,” he said.
In line with this, Parker mentioned that the government has implemented several governance mechanisms and institutions in recent years to strengthen the oil-and-gas sector, which he hailed as innovative or forward thinking.
The creation of the Natural Resource Fund, the Local Content Act and more, he said, are significant pieces of legislation that are imperative to ensure the proper governance of the sector, and enable Guyanese to benefit.
He noted that one key thing that Rystad Energy has always hailed is the establishment of agencies, as they can outlive administrations. He mentioned the newly-established Local Content Secretariat, among other regulatory bodies.
“And so, the institutions that have been created here all will have a part to play in making sure that this resource is ultimately going to benefit the people of Guyana who are the owners of this resource,” Parker said.
Parker went on to highlight that legislation such the Local Content Act and Natural Resource Fund Act are steps in the right direction to ensure the development of the sector.
During his presentation, the Rystad VP also highlighted that the future of the oil-and-gas industry is bright for Guyana, and that he views the gas-to-energy project as a game changers for the country.
