– Presidential Advisor on Petroleum briefs Cabinet on oil and gas sector

AMERICAN oil giant ExxonMobil could soon make another significant announcement on its oil exploration works in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Minister of Natural Resources,

Raphael Trotman, noted on Tuesday.

Trotman made the statement after Cabinet was briefed by newly appointed Presidential Advisor on Petroleum, Dr Jan Mangal, who informed the government about the future of the oil and gas sector as well as outlined how he sees his role and the action that must be taken to prepare Guyana to manage the sector.
According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency (MOTP), Minister Trotman deemed Dr. Mangal’s presentation a timely one, since ExxonMobil has been aggressively carrying out seismic and exploratory work. He said an announcement is expected from the company in another week or two. He said Dr Mangal’s work will help Cabinet to act more definitively on matters in relation to the petroleum sector.

“The presentation was about the technical aspects, where we would spend out monies and the kind of vision we would like to have for Guyana. So it was a good presentation; very timely and now I believe that Cabinet will examine it some more and look at the considerations, some of which are political, some technical, some financial and we will ultimately come up with the blueprint, if I can put it that way, for the development of the oil and gas sector,” Trotman said.

Minister Trotman noted that Government is working round the clock to put all systems in place to prepare Guyana for the ‘first oil.’
“We are preparing every day at the ministry and Dr Mangal is joining the Government to prepare for the ‘first oil,’ and so there is something happening every day. We are looking at contracts, identifying persons to do things, assessing requests for permits. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), they are all working,” he said.

According to the release, while citing the importance of his new position, Dr Mangal noted that it was important for him to outline his plans in the context of President Granger’s vision for development of the sector.
“It is to give Cabinet some comfort around the role itself, my experience and then also the vision of the President and the high-level vision, which we will have to work on and Guyanese will have to work on. But it was really to give Cabinet a view of where we are starting for Guyana,” he said.

Dr Mangal explained that as the Advisor to the President on Petroleum, he will be tasked with being the ‘middle ground’ between the Government and stakeholders to ensure that the necessary plans and policies are put in place.
“It is around bringing oil-and-gas expertise, someone from the industry like myself, in the position in the Ministry of the Presidency, who can speak to all stakeholders in Government and outside of Government. It is a position in the ministry that can look at things holistically in terms of Guyana’s energy sector; how oil and gas will affect Guyana as a whole. It is about how it will touch all areas of Guyana, business and all social issues. The role will touch on all areas and will try to stimulate the stakeholders’ input and I expect that it will grow over time,” he said.

Dr Mangal’s appointment is being funded through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). He said that while his initial role is intended to last for a six-month period, there is an intention to seek funding for the appointment to be extended and expanded to include other experts from the technical, legal and commercial areas of the oil and gas sector.
“I envision a small team in the ministry, about five or less and this is a team of experts from the industry and they will be there to assist the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Finance and to also work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.

So under that five, there will be a commercial oil-and-gas expert, an oil and gas lawyer, an analyst and possibly a technical person, but these will be persons who have been in the industry for a very long time, who know the industry very well and who are prepared to come and advise the Government of Guyana,” the presidential advisor said.
A Guyanese by birth, Dr Mangal is an expert in offshore and civil engineering. He is the holder of a Doctorate in Offshore Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Edinburgh. He has worked in the marine and oil and gas industries for the past 18 years.

Guyana’s oil and gas sector is increasingly gaining international attention, following significant oil finds by ExxonMobil over the past 20 months.
In January 2017, the oil giant announced positive results from its Payara-1 well offshore Guyana. Payara is ExxonMobil’s second oil discovery on the Stabroek Block. The well was drilled by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, and encountered more than 95 feet (29 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs.

It was safely drilled to 18,080 feet (5,512 metres) in 6,660 feet (2,030 metres) of water. The Payara field discovery is about 10 miles (16 km) north-west of the 2015 Liza discovery.
According to ExxonMobil, in addition to the Payara discovery, appraisal drilling at Liza-3 has identified an additional high-quality, deeper reservoir, directly below the Liza field, which is estimated to contain between 100-150 million oil equivalent barrels.