Four years after the announcement of significant hydrocarbons in the Stabroek Block, Guyana is left grossly unprepared for its new position as one of the world’s leading conventional producers and there is simply no excuse for this says oil and gas academic Charles Ramson.
During an exclusive interview with this news agency, Ramson emphatically stated that four years was more than enough time for the coalition government to put in place, at the very least, a robust Local Content Policy and Legislation, a no-nonsense Petroleum Commission, and a modernised and effective Environmental Protection Framework.
The attorney-at-law said it is important to note that Guyana’s unpreparedness is great news for ExxonMobil’s subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Hess Corporation, and CNOOC/NEXEN, since it is known to all and sundry that good governance is key to ensuring the oil wealth is transformed into the people’s wealth.
Crucial to this type of transformation, Ramson said, are robust laws and regulatory frameworks.
The 35-year-old, who has a Masters’ Degree in Oil and Gas Management, articulated that if the necessary policies and laws were in place, Guyana would have benefitted from billions of dollars.
Elaborating further in this regard, the petroleum academic said, “In the area of local content, for example, if we were able to capture at least 10 percent of the costs [Exxon expended on projects and services needed for the Stabroek Block development of Liza Phase One] then we would have been able to get US$440M. This is about $100B. So we have lost out on that.”
He added, “On top of that, there is no Petroleum Commission in place; you have a Natural Resource Fund legislation that was passed without the input of the political opposition, and since that law was passed, none of the committees such as the Macro-Economic Committee for the Fund has been established.”
Turning his attention to training, the lawyer, who has a profound interest in the oil sector’s success, asserted that Exxon would have handed over more than $100M for the training of locals who would be incorporated into the oil and gas operations being led by EEPGL. Yet, there has been no report to the citizenry as to what has become of this money since the contract was signed in 2016.
With respect to a framework for environmental protection, Ramson bemoaned the fact that there is no rapid response unit in place which could deal with any kind of oil spill. What is also appalling he said is that there is no National Oil Spill Contingency Plan.
In light of the foregoing, Ramson said it is more than reasonable for any rational person to question what position Guyana is really in to ensure there is good governance of the wealth to come, especially in a manner that will result in benefits for all.
Further to this, Ramson said that he does not buy the excuse being peddled by some in government that four years was not enough time to get all the fundamentals in place. The oil academic reiterated that there was more than sufficient time to have certain key updated laws and regulations passed and implemented if the government was hungry enough to ensure that, at least, a skeletal framework for good governance was in place.
In the meantime, he shared that he will continue to provide his requested ideas on how to plug these and other loopholes with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which he is confident will succeed at the next general and regional elections. He was careful to note that like all ideas his will be subjected to a “flushing process” and the final commitments for the party as it relates to the oil sector will be featured in its manifesto.