Petroleum Commission of Guyana Bill 2017 tabled in the National Assembly – will be sent to Special Select Committee at a later Sitting following its 2ndReading
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, May 11, 2017 – Honourable Raphael G.C. Trotman M.P., Minister of Natural Resources, on May 8, 2017 tabled the Petroleum Commission of Guyana Bill 2017 during the 64th Sitting of the Eleventh Parliament.
The Bill, which is the legislative architecture for the Petroleum Commission of Guyana, will be taken to a Special Select Committee at a later sitting of the National Assembly after its Second Reading.
The Bill has been the subject of consultation for a number of months, during which various stakeholders and the public had a chance to raise concerns and make suggestions as to how the Bill can be made better.
The passage of this Bill will see the creation of the Petroleum Commission of Guyana which will oversee and manage Guyana emerging oil and gas industry. The Petroleum Commission of Guyana will have the responsibility of monitoring and ensuring compliance with the policies, laws and agreements for petroleum operations. It will also, inter alia, be responsible for ensuring compliance with health, safety and environmental standards and ensure local content and local participation in all of the activities.
The Petroleum Commission will be tasked inter alia, with researching efficient, safe, effective and environmentally responsible exploration, development and production of petroleum in Guyana, including the optimum methods of exploring for, extracting and utilising petroleum and petroleum products
The new regulatory body will also have an advisory role to the Minister on matters related to the conduct of the industry and will be managed by a Board of Directors that will comprise experts in various fields as well as representatives of civil society and the parliamentary opposition. The Commission will also ensure that it accesses the necessary bodies of knowledge into the industry so it is not rendered solely reliant on data that the petroleum operators provide.
The Ministry of Natural Resources expects that the Select Committee process will be completed, and the Bill passed into law in 2017.
The Ministry encourages all Guyanese to learn about all that the Government is doing with the support of its local, regional and overseas partners to ensure that the country has in place all of the regulatory, fiduciary and transparency safeguards for our new and emerging oil and gas industry.