The Crucible of our Time
Hon. Raphael G.C. Trotman, MP, Minister of Natural
Resources
Presentation made at the Guyana Oil and Gas
Association’s Conference and Exposition 2017– Marriott
Hotel, Georgetown – March 26, 2017
This afternoon I am pleased to extend a warm and ecstatic welcome to all those gathered
here, and especially to everyone who has travelled in from abroad to be part of this
Conference being held under the apt theme: “The Initiation of a Transformative
Industry”.
I bring you greetings from His Excellency, the President David Arthur Granger and the
Cabinet of Ministers of Government.
Many adjectives and superlatives can be used to describe today’s happenings not just
what is unfolding at this instant at the Georgetown Marriott, but overall, I am speaking
about what is taking place within Guyana and around the world following on the
announcement of a ‘significant’ discovery 200 km offshore Guyana’s territorial waters –
“historic”, “transformational”, "transcendental", "outstanding”, “stupendous”, and
“exciting” are some words which spring to mind and have been used. For me, I believe
that the coming oil production is all these and even more.
The 2015 discovery, and the economic fortunes it portends for Guyana, has to be seen
against a backdrop of centuries of the enslavement of Africans, decades of indentureship
of East Indians, Chinese, Portuguese, and the displacement of perhaps millions of our
first people, the Amerindians. Political independence in 1966, Republicanism in 1970,
and the socio-political and socio-economic and even geo-political realities and tensions
that followed these events, have all combined to present to us, in the first quarter of the
new millennia, the crucible of our time. The history of Guiana, Dutch, French and
British in a pre and post-independence era has been one of struggle and antagonism;
many of which remain today. It is into this melting pot that the petroleum industry has
to be placed. And after all that we have endured, the Guyanese people are owed a better
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life and this discovery presents such an opportunity – once handled delicately and
deliberately.
Fifty years ago our parents grappled with the anxiety and reality of what autonomy and
independence really meant – managing the economy, maintaining national security,
building social cohesion, and strengthening parliamentary democracy, and today, we,
fifty years later, have to grapple with those very complexities and now with an even
bigger challenge – how do we successfully and sustainably manage the resource of
petroleum that has been bequeathed to us without imperilling ourselves, our children,
our environment, and our sovereignty. This is why I say that we face the crucible of our
time.
The Oxford dictionary describes "crucible" as “a situation in which people or things are
severely tested, often interacting to produce something new”. Elsewhere, philosophers
may speak about the dialectics of our time. It is against this backdrop that ExxonMobil
and its venture partners - Hess and CNOOC announced to the world that they had made
a discovery in our waters. In making this discovery, and the formal announcement
shortly after, {where the news first broke about a discovery is a story that has to be told
one day but in a different setting} Guyana’s destiny as a young state just fifty years old
was placed on a trajectory that could only be described as extraordinary.
Providence perhaps determined that in our 50th year as an independent nation the gift
of a bountiful patrimony would be lifted out of the earth and placed into our hands.
Where we go from here will determine not only the next 50 years, but the next millennia.
What is therefore required is a whole of government, whole of industry, whole of society
and whole of country approach.
Partnerships are a sine qua non for success and these have to be intra-governmental,
inter-governmental, between government and the operators, between government and
civil society, between government and the people of Guyana, and most importantly
between and amongst the people themselves.
Certainly, we in government do not claim omnipotence or omniscience - far be it for us
to make such a vaunted claim. We cannot do all that has to get done if we attempt to do
it all alone and so Government is seeking partnerships with individuals, groups,
associations and even countries that are prepared to work in the best interest of Guyana
and its people, like-minded partnerships. At the same time, we need to accept that there
is a measure to which we can obtain advice and assistance at any given time.
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So, we seek stronger partnerships with the Guyana Oil and Gas Association, the Private
Sector Commission, the African Business Round Table, and the Guyana Manufacturers
and Services Association and the Chambers of Commerce as industry representatives
and with civil society organisations such the GHRA, APA, GOIP, ACDA, the Indian
Arrival Committee, and National Toshaos Council to name a few.
So what have we been doing for the greater part of 20 months? We dubbed 2016 as ‘the
year for preparation’ and now 2017 we refer to as ‘the year of implementation’. We have
forged partnerships where none existed with the Chatham House – the Royal Institute
of International Affairs, and the New Petroleum Producers Discussion Group and the
Mexican Government’s Petroleum Institute and strengthened relationships with the
United Nations Development Fund, World Bank, the Commonwealth Secretariat and US
Department of State. In particular, the Mexican Petroleum Institute will in the first part
of our understanding develop three white papers that will inform and guide institutional
and regulatory strengthening and point the way towards the establishment of a
Petroleum Institute.
Additionally, we have retained experts and are at present assessing ExxonMobil’s and
other operators’ applications for production and exploration licences respectively.
Further, we are considering a proposal from one of the world’s leading offshore supply
companies to establish a world-class base at Crab Island, Berbice, and are examining the
possibility of utilising some of the available natural gas from the Liza field for energy
generation as we transition to renewables. Lastly, we are addressing, in advance, the
viability of a refinery or refineries in Guyana.
In so far as policy and legislative initiatives are concerned, we have completed a raft of
legislative and policy drafts and updates;
These include:
1.
Updating Guyana’s National Upstream Petroleum Sector Policy
2.
Creating Guyana’s National Local Content Policy
3. Revised our model Production Share Agreement (PSA) with assistance from
international law firms
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4.
Updated the 1986 Petroleum Exploration and Production Legislation and
Regulations
5.
Fashioned a draft Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill
6.
Drafted Petroleum Taxation and Fiscal Legislation
7.
Completed the drafting and consultation process for the establishment of the
Petroleum Commission of Guyana – Petroleum Commission of Guyana Bill {for
submission to National Assembly}
8.
Working towards establishing a Petroleum Scientific Institute (2018/2020)
9.
Ensuring that we have a National Oil Company (2018)
Going forward, the Ministerial Sub-Committee of Cabinet that comprises: the Ministers
of Natural Resources, Finance, Public Infrastructure, Agriculture, Business,
Communities, Social Protection, Education, Public Telecommunications and Citizenship
will continue to meet to ensure that Government, through its Ministries and Agencies,
will bring its entire weight to push at the wheel and we propose to engage the industry
and civil society organisations to examine the means through which we can create a
more inclusive platform for the exchange of views and ideas. There is much planned for
this year and into 2020 and the details will be shared as we continue the roll out of the
outreach programme using the theme: “Guyana Rising! From Potential to Prosperity”.
All that we do has to be bracketed by a set of considerations that remind us · to be cautious as we go about our preparations – recalling that there are those with
vested interests in seeing us failing as a nation and within our society there are as many
cynics as there are optimists.
·
to be inclusive in our decision making; and
·
to be decisive and not lose the initiative that presents itself now as the opportunities
can evaporate as quickly as do vapours of gas.
Whatever we do, we must do so together to build a stronger Guyana.
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Let me end by offering congratulations to the members of the Guyana Oil and Gas
Association (GOGA) for rising to the occasion by not just holding conferences and
lectures, but also engaging Exxon and the operators in commercial activities; by
celebrating our blessings; and by reminding you to be contemplative about what it will
take for us not just to get to the first barrel of oil in a few years’ time, but to ensure that
the benefits and growth that we expect to follow are economically and environmentally
sustained, equitably shared, used to develop our beloved Guyana, and safeguarded from
existential threats from both within and without.
The Government of Guyana is always open to good and useful suggestions and to
meaningful support. This event is both useful and meaningful. I therefore wish the
organisers and participants a successful conference.
I thank you and may God bless us all.
RGCT
2017-03-26
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