The Guyana Government has set aside an allocation in its annual national expenditure, to go towards the building of institutional capacity in the Oil and Gas sector as well as the advancement of its legal and regulatory frameworks.
The multi-year G$2.2B programme will receive it first G$30M tranche following the approval of the 2018 National Budget following the debates to begin in the coming week.
Provided for under the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Oil and Gas Development Programme, the provisions will in 2018 cater for the development of “policy, strategy, action plan, legal and regulatory framework for the Oil and Gas sector.”
The provision also envisages resources going towards the advancing of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), an expansion of the ‘gas to power study’ along with institutional strengthening and capacity building.
As it relates to the ‘gas to power study’ legislators were told “although oil remains the main focus of this emerging sector we are carefully exploring the feasibility of utilising natural gas as a temporary alternative for power generation.”
Guyanese Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, in presenting the South American nation’s annual Estimates for 2018, said, “ In the coming year, further steps will be taken to identify the preferred option for transporting gas onshore, including the most suitable location.
According to information supplied in the Budget Estimates for 2018, provided by the Ministry of Finance, the multi-year project will be funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Development Association.
The benefits of the programme are touted as “improved institutional capacity for management of oil and gas sectors.”
According to Mr. Jordan, “as we begin the transition to an oil producing nation, Government must and will implement prudent structural reforms and fiscal safeguards, strengthen our institutions, prioritise the development of our human capacity, and diversify our growth portfolio.”
