The Department of Energy has issued several tenders for international experts to, among other things, assist Guyana in a cost recovery audit and the review of ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase Two development plan.
Director of the Department, Dr. Mark Bynoe, in his first press conference since being appointed three months ago, noted that the idea of the tenders is to build the department’s capacity while ensuring a strong regulatory and legislative framework is set up to govern the oil and gas industry.
“As we seek to build the capacity of the department, in the short term, using external resources, we continue to promote mentoring and capacity building as the philosophy going forward,” Dr. Bynoe explained.
In relation to the cost recovery audit, Dr. Bynoe said the tender invites international firms to assist in the completion of the first audit under the existing Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil and its partners.
The job will see a collaborative and institutional capacity building approach being utilised during the conduct of the audit, Dr. Bynoe explained.
The Department of Energy has also tendered for a firm to assist in the review and approval with knowledge of the Liza Phase Two field development plan. He said, “We have received numerous expressions of interests and will soon be moving towards a call for technical and financial proposals.”
Dr Bynoe added that the department is also considering hiring external legal assistance to help build a robust framework that ensures maximum net returns to Guyanese.
He noted too that the department is currently reviewing the current legal and regulatory framework for the oil and gas sector. This includes the revision and possible replacement of legislation. A presentation is expected to be made to the department in the following week.
It will also utilise external resources as it finalises the Local Content Policy and conduct a needs assessment of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) readiness to regulate the oil and gas sector.
