Guyana will soon see the adoption of international oil and gas standards with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) and the American Petroleum Institute (API).
The ensuing collaboration provides Guyana’s primary standards-setting agency access to API’s oil and gas standards and increases collaboration on safety guidelines and requirements for the country’s growing petroleum industry.
Executive Director of the GNBS Ramrattie Karan and API’s Vice President (Segment Standards and Services) Alexa Burr signed the MOU.
Karan said the collaboration has been in the pipeline for over two years and will see the Bureau adopting API’s list of standards, accessing training and capacity building along with sharing information regarding updates applicable to the industry.
Further, the MoU provides for the implementation of API’s manual for Petroleum Measurement Standards used onboard the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSOs).
“We see our role in this promising industry as critical in ensuring its success, and we look forward to partnering with the American Petroleum Institute to standardise practices and procedures through the adoption of API Standards and other guidelines,” Karran said.
Burr, who appeared via the online Zoom platform, remarked that the signing of the MoU provides Guyana access to API’s 700 plus standards and 600 plus members and this will be combined with GNBS’ decades of experience.
“We cannot be more excited that our two influential organizations are aligning to enhance safety, sustainability and environmental protection in the growing, oil and gas industry in Guyana,” Burr stated.
And as the global economy starts to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and global energy demands return to pre-pandemic levels, she posited that it’s increasingly important that high Guyana meets global energy needs, through the use of “best-in- class” industry standards.
Meanwhile, the inking of the MoU, according to Bobby Gossai, Senior Petroleum Coordinator at the Ministry of Natural Resources, is a very crucial step to the development of Guyana’s expanding oil industry.
He posited that the adoption of the new standards is not only critical to the development of the upstream sector but also the midstream sector, Gossai added.
Standards are already said to be in place for the downstream sector.
“It is very important for standards to be in place so that Guyana is seen as one that adheres to international best practices for the development of our ongoing and evolving oil and gas sector.”
Already 22 discoveries have been made in the Stabroek Block by operator ExxonMobil and its co-venturers Hess and CNOOC/NEXEN. This, according to Gossai, presents Guyana with a steep learning curve and such a collaboration presents an opportunity to improve along this path.
“We want to see the industry grow in a manner that adheres to all the commitments of the best practices [and] that is why we use the term good oilfield practices for Guyana…it is very significant that we focus on developing our industry in a manner that encourages investment,” the Petroleum Cordinator added further.
API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry, which supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. The 600 members produce, process and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and participate in API Energy Excellence, which is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting.
API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.
