If the APNU+AFC Government does not build sufficient capacity for the oil and gas sector, particularly in its new Department of Energy, then it has no business giving out more oil blocks via one-on-one negotiations with any oil company.
This declaration was recently made by former Presidential Advisor on Petroleum, Dr. Jan Mangal. In a missive to the media, the Oil and Gas Academic noted that “one-on-one negotiations” are prone to corruption and Guyana is a highly corrupt country.
He even stated that oil majors such as Chevron and Petrobras would love for Guyana to enter such discussions since they know they can out-wit the country’s negotiators. Dr. Mangal said that it would simply be another sequel of the ExxonMobil-Guyana negotiations. He commented that the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) left Guyana to collect the mere crumbs of its own pie.
Further to this, Dr. Mangal said that Guyana’s authorities need to urgently seek qualified Oil and Gas professionals. He said that these individuals should have decades of experience with major oil companies along with ethical backgrounds.
Dr. Mangal said, “If you think I am being critical of the current administration, it is relative. Guyana would be in a much worse place if the previous administration were in charge. There would be zero transparency; blocks would be awarded in complete secrecy….”
On this note, the Oil and Gas Consultant said he suspects that oil blocks were awarded in highly inappropriate or even corrupt ways under the last administration. He made a call for there to be an investigation into all oil blocks issued during the time of the PPP. Dr Mangal is of the belief that Guyana was robbed tens or even hundreds of millions of US dollars.
Dr. Mangal also noted that if the necessary measures aren’t taken to safeguard Guyana, then the current administration risks repeating the mistakes of its predecessors.
