Citizens, regions to benefit from oil revenues – Trotman

…independent consultant to be hired to verify ExxonMobil’s info

Government has moved to hire an independent consultant to verify information supplied by U.S.-based oil giant ExxonMobil, in light of another recent discovery of oil and gas offshore Guyana.

This information was revealed by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman during a recent parliamentary committee meeting held in the Parliament Chambers.

The minister told the committee that Government has no intention of squandering the natural gas that would be made available to the country, but the matter would be extensively studied. He said an independent analysis will be conducted to determine whether water or natural gas should be used to pressurize the wells to extract commercial quantities of oil.

“Government is using several different means of corroborating and cross-referencing the information… We’re using other independent sources and contractors to tell us what there is,” he said.

Trotman said that when production begins in mid-2020, Government will install the relevant equipment to independently measure the oil and gas at the point of extraction.

“There is going to be real-time monitoring onshore and on the vessel by personnel on a 24-hour basis, to ensure that the production is as it said it would be,” he explained.

ExxonMobil recently told Government that Guyana may be able to access 50 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, which by calculation can provide the country with 200 megawatts of power.

According to the minister, the recent data was provided only in March, following repeated requests by Government to have the oil company supply that information.

Trotman also said Government would ensure that both citizens and regions benefit from the oil revenues. He said Government is currently discussing several ways in which the ordinary Guyanese people could benefit, and one of those ways is through social programmes in the areas of education and health-care.

He said Government would also consider whether the citizenry will receive benefits directly, such as year-end cheques, or via social services within the regions. “The idea is that regions would receive a percentage, perhaps following the fiscal transfer system, as is used currently,” Trotman said. He, however, explained that that decision would have to be made by Parliament.

Consideration may also be given to have the population receive benefits in a variance in which each citizen would receive a cheque at year-end similar to the situation that obtains in places like Alaska.

Regions Five, Six and Ten would also benefit from the establishment of a petroleum facility which is carded for establishment at Crab Island in Berbice, the minister noted.

Government has already completed the structure for the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, an aspect of the regulatory framework for the oversight of the new sector. The fund will have budget support, or what he termed “budget stabilisation”, which he noted is to ensure that the Ministry of Finance is capable of carrying out programmes relative to the petroleum sector.