–by Svetlana Marshall–

Warning that Guyana could be heading down a dangerous path, Opposition Member of Parliament, David Patterson said any mishandling of the wide-ranging powers reposed in a single person under the just passed Petroleum Activities Bill could negatively impact the development of the country’s Oil and Gas Industry.

“It is unwise, it is unwise. There is no country other than dictatorships where power resides in an individual – elected or not. And, we are fortunate because we started this oil and gas exploration at a late stage, countries have been producing oil for hundreds of years, so by now we can benefit from all of the best practices, the dos and the don’ts, and all the dos and the don’ts don’t allow us to do that,” MP Patterson told News Source today. 

The Petroleum Activities Bill, which was passed in the National Assembly last Thursday, reposes in the Minister responsible for the Petroleum Sector, wide-ranging powers, which include the power to approve or disapprove permits and licenses to operate in the sector.

Additionally, under the legislation, the Minister can grant approval for a licence based on a process of competitive tendering or direct negotiation, in cases where the Minster acting on the directions of Cabinet, determines that special circumstances exist which, in the national interest or national security, justifies the use of the direct negotiation.

However, MP Patterson said that such a system can result in abuse, and lead to issues relating to the lack of transparency and accountability in the awarding process.

“There was a middle eastern sheik that came to the country, and he came with his private jet and three friends. He came to look at housing and infrastructure, and he left the country with a US$40M contract to supply Sputnik vaccines, no procurement, nothing at all, the Cabinet just said this is an emergency. Obviously, that can happen again in the Oil and Gas Industry, the Minister can say that Cabinet has asked me to approved this, and we have a history of contracts awarded like that,” MP Patterson said.

Additionally, he said the legislation fails to address a number of critical issues relating to climate change and the environment and the agriculture sector including the Fishing Industry.

But the Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, during his weekly programme ‘Issues in the News,’ said the governance model proposed by the Opposition was not practical.

“Is either you have a commission, and the commission is reposed with the power or you have a minister. But you can’t have a commission that becomes a rubber stamp of the minister,” the Attorney General reasoned.

Pointing to neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago, the Attorney General said there are a number of oil producing nations, whose Oil and Gas Sector is led by a minister and not a commission.

“And, the one that we chose is the one that Trinidad has for example, there is no commission in the Trinidad Law, the Trinidad Law has been there for a hundred years. One can argue that Trinidad didn’t manage their proceeds of the industry or one can argue that they did manage it intelligently and diligently but no one could dispute that the industry in Trinidad has been a success story,” Minister Nandlall said.

However, he said the Irfaan Ali Administration has not ruled out the notion of there being a National Petroleum Commission in Guyana. He said now is just not the time for such a body.

“We made it very clear that once we come out of the embryonic stages of the industry, and the infrastructure is up and running, and the industry it self is up and running that we will move to a commission at a later stage, but at this point in time, the government wants to ensure that the industry is up and running,” he explained.

The Petroleum Activities Bill replaced the Petroleum (Exploration and Production Act of 1986) Act, and is intended to strengthen the country’s regulatory framework.

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