Page 4 - LatAmOil Week 12 2021

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil

Tank constructed by Guyana’s InFab, which is providing fabrications services for an FPSO that will be deployed at the Payara oilfield (Photo: Industrial Fabrications)

Guyana’s government providing

policy support for the oil sector

Officials in Georgetown have been focusing on plans for setting up

the Petroleum Commission and establishing a local content policy

GUYANA is still a relative newcomer to the ExxonMobil and the other companies operating
global oil industry. It did not begin commercial in the area have made a few discoveries, but so
WHAT: production until December 2019, when Exxon- far, none of these has been classified as a com-
Guyana needs a solid pol- Mobil (US) and its partners brought Liza-1, an mercial find.
icy framework to support offshore oilfield within the Stabroek block, on Even so, Stabroek alone may be yielding 1mn
future development. stream. To date, no other fields have reached this barrels per day (bpd) or more. As such, investors
stage. should welcome the Guyanese government’s
WHY: Even so, Guyana’s government is expecting ongoing efforts to provide the oil industry with
President Ali and his ad- to see a ramp-up in development activities over support in the area of policy. This essay will
ministration are making the next few years. ExxonMobil has already describe some recent developments on this
progress on establishing approved plans for bringing Liza-2 and Payara, front.
key institutions and two other fields within the Stabroek block,
regulations.
online in 2022 and 2024 respectively. These Policy priorities
projects will bring the number of floating pro- With respect to policy, Natural Resources Min-
WHAT NEXT: duction, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels ister Vickram Bharrat said at an industry con-
Georgetown is deter-
mined to carve out a role installed at Stabroek up to three, and ExxonMo- ference last week that Georgetown was gearing
for Guyanese companies bil expects to have a total of five operating at the up to form a new state agency to oversee the oil
but also wants to balance block by 2026. (According to Jayme Meier, the sector. This agency, which will be known as the
local content require- US super-major’s manager for deepwater pro- Petroleum Commission, will be fully functional
ments with oil compa- jects, the number may eventually climb as high by the end of the year, he stated.
nies’ needs. as 10.) Bharrat also indicated that the government
It is not yet clear whether Guyana’s other was working to establish a solid legal framework
offshore blocks will prove equally fruitful. for oil development.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 12 25•March•2021