During his mid-year press conference on Wednesday, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, asserted that Guyana’s oil and gas sector is one of the best managed in the world.
Addressing the media, Minister Bharrat underscored that transparency and accountability underpin the sector’s operations and highlighted the Government of Guyana’s efforts to ensure robust management practices.
“Now with the oil and gas sector, I want to say from the inception and some people may not agree but when you look at it from a neutral point of view, we would see that Guyana’s oil and gas sector is one of the better managed oil and gas sector in the world…,” he said. The minister stressed that the sector’s management surpasses that of many other oil-producing nations, largely due to the country’s commitment to transparency.
Minister Bharrat also pointed out that few countries have their top policymakers, such as the Vice President or the Minister responsible for petroleum, engaging with the media as frequently as Guyana does.
“We did a quick check to see how many oil producing countries in the world will have the Vice President of the country who is the lead policy maker on the oil and gas sector speak on the sector every single week in a year,” he noted, adding that many cannot match such a standard.
“There is nothing to hide in the management of the oil and gas sector…” Minister Bharrat added.
He further elaborated on the transparency mechanisms in place, referencing the Natural Resource Fund (NRF).
He pointed out that anyone globally can access information on Guyana’s NRF, which details the amount of money held in the fund. Minister Bharrat explained that there are only two ways in which money can be withdrawn from the NRF: through the National Budget, which is debated and must be approved by the National Assembly, or in the event of a national disaster, requiring emergency funding, which also needs approval.
Further, he addressed criticisms of the sector’s management, stating, “There are strong measures place in the NRF Act to ensure that there is proper transparency and accountability.”
The minister also attributed the sector’s success to the government’s ability to learn from the mistakes of other oil-producing nations, thereby enabling the country to adopt a model best suited to its needs.
As a result of this approach, “Guyana today is being used as a model country,” he said proudly.
