President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced a local content panel for the oil and gas sector which includes former APNU+AFC Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge and former Energy Minister of Trini-dad and Tobago, Kevin Ramnarine.
A statement yesterday from the Office of the President said the Local Content Panel is expected to conduct expansive consultation and review and devise recommendations that will inform the country’s policy in this area. The new PPP/C government has stated that local content will not just be in the form of a policy but will be legislated for.
“I strongly believe that Guyanese must play an integral role and benefit from the fortunes of the sector,” Ali said in the statement.
While the President acknowledged that there is much to be done in terms of capacity building among local stakeholders, he believes that with the right mix, which includes technology transfer and partnership between experienced companies and the local private sector, a “sustainable and lucrative pathway can be achieved for Guyanese” within the local content policy.
With the new government appearing unlikely to force a renegotiation of the contentious 2016 Produc-tion Sharing Agreement with ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, EEPGL, local content seems to be the area where some concerns will be assuaged. Both the PPP/C government and ExxonMobil have signalled that there is room for deeper local content programmes outside of merely the purchase of goods and services. It has been argued that local content must lead to training of Guyanese for the higher end jobs in the oil and gas industry and to enable support services which have so far been dominated by companies from the Caribbean and elsewhere.
While he was the foreign minister and later foreign secretary under the former APNU+AFC administration, Greenidge has been retained by this government as an Advisor on Borders
He is an Economist who served as Guyana’s Finance Minister from 1983-1992. An international public servant, he has also served in several top-level positions including as Secretary-General of the ACP Group of States and in the 10th Parliament, he served as the Opposition Spokesman on Finance and International Economic Cooperation, the statement from the Office of the President noted.
Ramnarine, the statement noted, served as the Minister of Energy from 2011 to 2015. It said that he created a positive climate for investment, including the fiscal reforms, which resulted in major investments in deep-water exploration. Prior to being appointed Energy Minister, he held positions in the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago and at British Gas where he served as the Lead Econo-mist.
Ramnarine holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry, a Master’s of Science in Petroleum Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Business.
The panel will be chaired by Shyam Nokta. He is the current President of the Guyana Manufac-turing & Services Associa-tion. The statement said that he holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Envi-ronmental Assessment and Management from the University of Oxford–Brookes and a Bachelor’s of Science in Environ-mental Studies from the University of Guyana.
Nokta has also served as an Adviser to the President and as Head of the Office of Climate Change where he co-ordinated Guyana’s response to climate change, the development and implementation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy and REDD+ Partnership with the Kingdom of Norway. He was also involved in key conservation initiatives such as the setting up of Guyana’s National Pro-tected Areas System. He currently serves as the Chief Representative for the Caribbean for the Delhi-based Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
The panel also includes Floyd Haynes, a Guyanese with over 30 years of executive-level experience. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner who holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, the statement said. Haynes is an adjunct Professor in Finance, and Accounting at the University of the District of Columbia and a Public lecturer in Leadership and Management. He is also the founder and President of Haynes Incorporated, a Washington-based international accounting and management consulting firm.
Also on the panel is Trinidadian Dr Anthony Paul. The statement said that he is the Principal Consultant, Energy and Strategy, Association of Caribbean Energy Specialist Limited. He led a Rapid Analysis of the State of Readiness of Guyana’s Hydrocarbon Regulatory Framework study, facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme in 2016 and played a lead role in the formulation of Guyana’s draft Local Content Policy framework, which is now under review.
Rounding out the panel is trade unionist Carvil Duncan. The statement noted that he is the former Chairman of the Public Service Commission.
The statement said that the Government has continuously assured that it will approach the development of the oil and gas sector in a non-partisan manner.
“The recent appointments are part of the Government’s drive to fulfil its manifesto promises as it relates to securing the benefits of oil and gas for all Guyanese. The critical areas which are central to the overall strategy in the Oil and Gas Sector are a framework for proper management of resources, transparency and accountability and securing benefits for Guyanese”, the statement said.
