GS Jagdeo criticises PNCR/APNU’s Oil and Gas plan as lacking substance

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has dismissed the recently announced oil and gas plan by the PNCR/APNU as lacking in detail and vision.

At his weekly news conference held at Freedom House on Thursday, Dr Jagdeo described the plan as light on details and heavy on rhetoric.

He said, “It is a document that is devoid of specifics and that they would tout it…if you examine you will see that in the 20-point plan, 12 are about feasibility plans and review, so no commitment to anything….we have always argued that PNC/APNU is great at doing feasibility studies…they are great at doing nothing practically….two other paragraphs are duplication, so that’s duplication…and then some promises to do things we’ve already done…of the 20 points I will give them credit for the way it looks, nothing else.”

“…there is no commitment to policy. This is supposed to be a policy document, where you outline what you are going to do…we had a long list of things of what we would do…very, very specific and we were in Opposition….we didn’t say we will review this or that…that is when you have clarity from a Party,” he said.

The general secretary contrasted the PNCR/APNU’s approach with the PPP’s record in government, highlighting that while in opposition, the PPP presented clear policy proposals and has since delivered on those promises. 

He said, “In our manifesto, we made it clear what we will do…we said we are going to move to auction blocks, moving away from the first come-first served basis on which licenses in the oil and gas sector were awarded in the past – we did that. We said we will pass a Local Content Act – we did that. We said we would review the NRF – we did that. We said we will pass a new Petroleum Activities Act, updating the 1986 one – we did that. We said we would strengthen the environmental permits – we did that in every case. We said we will publish all of the permits – we did that, both the licenses and the permits, as well as the agreements we signed….we said we will pass a new PSA – we did that…I can go down a long list.”

According to him, the PNCR/APNU was clearly under pressure to release a position, but faltered in being able to proffer a substantial policy position.

“It is an elaborate con…you can write on anything, but running government is very different,” he declared.

Under the current administration, the NRF is managed by an independent board, a departure from the previous APNU+AFC Coalition government’s approach. The NRF Act of 2021 mandates a Board of Directors to oversee the fund’s management, ensuring compliance with approved policies and laws.

The government has amended the NRF Act to require annual Parliamentary approval for any withdrawals from the fund, further enhancing transparency and accountability.

Additionally, significant changes have been made to the Petroleum Activities Bill and the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement to secure greater benefits for Guyana.

The Local Content Act, passed in 2021, has been another key achievement, according to Jagdeo. The legislation has provided thousands of Guyanese companies with procurement opportunities, fostering local capacity in the rapidly expanding oil sector.

With over 11.6 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, Guyana is currently producing approximately 350,000 barrels of oil per day. By the end of the decade, production is expected to exceed one million barrels per day.

The PPP/C’s emphasis on robust policy implementation contrasts sharply with the opposition’s perceived lack of direction, Dr Jagdeo argued, suggesting that the PNCR/APNU’s plan offers little in the way of actionable policies for the sector’s future.