…Guyana’s President says in relation to concerns raised about oil and gas sector
As Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Energy Sector Cooperation on Wednesday, both President David Granger and Trinidad Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley assured that there is no ‘takeover or sell-out’ of any sector by either side, but rather a sharing of information and ideas in the sector.
Dr Rowley speaking to the Guyanese press following the signing at State House, said the document contains bilateral arrangements for the cooperation on energy issues such as possible financing and providing entrepreneurial skills as a “good neighbour.”
The Trinidadian Prime Minister expressed disappointed over concerns raised by Guyana’s Private Sector that the MoU allows for a takeover by T&T businesses.
“We are working towards ensuring that we, as a people not just the people of Trinidad and Tobago but the people of Caricom – Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago – do better for all ourselves and to come up against that is disappointing and to the extent that there is any potential takeover which I don’t think is happening or is going to happen,” Rowley said.
The Energy Sector Cooperation MoU, he reminded, is one of two agreements Guyana shared with T&T. The first, which was renewed earlier this year, is a platform to discuss all bilateral cooperation and the second to be signed is for cooperation in oil and gas.
Dr Rowley also reminded that T&T had helped bail out Guyana from its Highly Indebted Poor Country status by writing off billions of T&T dollars in debt.
“That write-off was done against the background of Trinidad and Tobago being encouraged and, as a matter of fact, we did so against pressures and we are not holding that as any quid pro quo (a favour in return). We are treating that as circumstantial and we maintain our position that we are a friendly cooperating neighbour of Guyana,” he said.
President Granger also debunked claims that the signing of the MoU lends to a sell-out of Guyana’s patrimony or natural resources. The Guyanese Head of State said Guyana stands to benefit from Trinidad and Tobago’s decades of experience in the oil and gas sector in areas of production, marketing, dealing with oil spills and international corporations.
He said, “There is no sell-out. There are some unjustified fears that Guyana is giving away the family jewels but that can’t be true. It is simply a means of collaborating. The fears that there is some giveaway are completely unjustified. I want to set that record straight.”
The MoU signing comes on the heels of concerns raised locally by the observers and stakeholders about the benefits that would redound to Guyanese, more specifically the local businesses within the Private Sector, with the signing of such an agreement.
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) was one such body that requested Government to hold off on signing the MoU with T&T, asking that its members be consulted first, as they fear that this could possibly open the flood gates for foreign companies to take over the oil industry.
President of the GCCI, Deodat Indar, said Guyanese businesses are already being sidestepped and instead contracts have been awarded to foreign-based companies to benefit from the local oil sector. But the GCCI wants the local Private Sector to get its “piece of the pie.”
Following the concerns raised, the President had said he would make the MoU public.
The framework agreement for the MoU will come on stream by October 1, 2018. The areas of cooperation as outlined in the MoU include technical assistance in the areas of exploration and production of hydrocarbon resources; the exchange of information on public policies in the area of the regulation, administration and sovereign management of oil resources.
It also includes the exchange of information on Government programmes throughout the hydrocarbon value chain and related experiences; the promotion of training and capacity-building of technical personnel and the development of energy technologies through, inter alia, technical visits, secondments, seminars and presentations.
Further, the promotion of cooperation and exchange of experiences between State-owned petroleum enterprises for the development of joint projects utilising mechanisms convenient to the parties has been listed as an area of cooperation between the two countries.
Importantly also is the development of policies relating to local content; the identification and development of projects throughout the hydrocarbon value chain; the identification of projects in the area of construction and maintenance of plants and infrastructure related to transportation, storage and supply of hydrocarbons and derivatives, among others. (Samuel Sukhnandan)
