Since the start of the Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project in April 2019 which is backed by a US$20M World Bank loan, the oil-producing state has only utilized 23 percent or US$4.77M of that funding. This is according to the latest Implementation Status and Results Report of the financial institution.
According to the report seen by OilNOW, progress was recently made towards securing advisory services on key issues such as cost recovery, crude marketing, and the establishment of the Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Apart from this, it was noted that the selection process for hiring an internationally recognized legal consultant firm to support the development of the legal and regulatory frameworks for the oil and gas sector is under review. Once a consultant is selected, five laws will be focused on. They are: the Petroleum Commission Act; Petroleum Taxation and Fiscal Regulations; Local Content Law and Regulations (for petroleum sector); Occupational Safety and Health Regulations (for petroleum sector); Environmental Regulations (for petroleum sector). The World Bank said that in the meantime, it has financed a Petroleum Sector Legislative Reform workshop and a Crude Lifting workshop both with international experts for key government representatives.
Furthermore, as of January 2021, the World Bank said that a selection process for a petroleum data expert is ongoing with the goal of conducting a detailed petroleum data needs assessment.
It was also noted that the Bank is working with officials attached to the Ministry of Finance regarding identifying and hiring an international expert to provide the expertise and training of its personnel to support the operationalization of the Natural Resource Fund. The Bank said that the selection process is ongoing, and training is expected to commence before the end of the first quarter.
The US$20M was first granted to Guyana in March 2019 to support the enhancement of its legal and institutional frameworks and the strengthening of the capacity of key institutions to manage the oil and gas sector. The loan’s disbursement was split into four categories. Component- A. Enhancement of Legal Framework and Stakeholder Engagement:(Cost US$3.20 M); Component – B Capacity Building of Key Institutions:(Cost US$10.70 M); Component – C. Enhancement of Fiscal Management:(Cost US$3.50 M); and Component – D. Project Management and Project Preparation Facility:(Cost US$2.60 M).
The objective of the Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project is to support the enhancement of legal and institutional frameworks and the strengthening of the capacity of key institutions to manage the oil and gas sector in Guyana.
