New Petroleum Bill for public consultations soon

A 1986 Petroleum Act is among the pieces of legislation governing Guyana’s nascent oil and gas sector but Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo says issues with that outdated law have been identified and a new draft will be in the public domain for consultations soon.

“We had an issues’ paper where we looked at several areas that needed strengthening.

“We worked on that, we gave feedback to the drafters and they are working on that,” Vice President Jagdeo related during a recent People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) press conference.

Though unable to provide a projected completion date, the Vice President said the draft Bill would be made available for public consultations soon.

Last year, Dr. Jagdeo said the law would be amended by March 2023.

More recently, a press release from the Ministry of Natural Resources highlighted that the government is stepping up efforts meant to overhaul the 1986 Petroleum Act and other key regulations to ensure that new investments in the burgeoning sector are governed by “a comprehensive framework of international best practices.”

The recent announcement of impending legislative changes came as the government released new oil contracts and invited submissions on the contracts over a 14-day consultation period.

Those new contracts, deemed model Petroleum Agreements, should be inked between the government and the countries or companies that successfully bid for the 14 oil blocks.

Guyana’s bid round for 14 new oil blocks was launched last December and it is expected to close by April 2023. The government hopes to award contracts by the end of May 2023.

The oil blocks on auction are for shallow and deep water areas and if successful, companies will be guided by a fiscal and contractual terms meant to garner greater benefits for Guyana.