Guyana plans to hire a consultant this year to set the stage for the establishment of the government’s own petroleum data repository.
“We will have to determine first of all what data we need to store, the size of the data, what software will be needed, what hardware will be needed, and specification requirements,” Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. “[This is] information that we need upfront. So, there is an allocation here… so that we are advised properly before we rush into setting up the data repository in Guyana.”
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Guyana is at a disadvantage, the Minister explained, because its data is currently stored overseas. He said the government is in business with Houston-based companies to host its data.
He said if companies need to purchase datasets for the purpose of, for instance, the current offshore bid round, Guyana gets 50% of the proceeds. But the administration would prefer maximising this revenue-generating venture by having a data centre in country.
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“Obviously, as we continue to develop the oil and gas sector, there would be much more data, not only from the Stabroek Block but all other blocks outside of Stabroek and also nearshore and onshore blocks,” Bharrat told the House.
Presently, there are two operating floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels offshore. A third is set to arrive this year. Six should be operating altogether by 2027. Exploration is also expected to expand across several blocks from this year.
