THE current five-day training programme in oil and gas for technical officers in the natural resources and environmental sectors is indeed most timely, because of the possibility of Guyana becoming an oil- producing country in the not too distant future.

Several international and reputable companies are already here on various oil exploration projects as geo-technical data give positive indications in this regard.

However, as President Donald Ramotar correctly pointed out at the opening of the workshop on Monday, while becoming an oil-producing country presents new opportunities, simultaneously this creates new challenges and problems.

He said that oil could be considered a blessing, but could very well become a curse if the resulting economy is not prudently managed.

“We have to be aware of the negative aspects which we will have to bear in mind to make ourselves immune (to them), such as the tendency for the industry to pull away labour and capital from other sectors,” he exhorted, adding: “We don’t want to fall into a situation where, if we find oil, we become absolutely dependent on oil, to the exclusion of other important areas for growth and development.”

Alan Greenblatt, in his article, ‘Brazil hopes to add oil wealth to booming economy’, notes: “Brazil has discovered enormous oil reserves far off its coast, but the country’s robust and varied economy means it shouldn’t become dependent on oil.

“Brazil is not just going to be an oil-exporting country,” says Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. “That’s not all it’s going to do.”

Brazil now has the ninth largest economy in the world and has enjoyed enormous growth in recent years, thanks in part to the export of a wide array of commodities to China, its largest trading partner.

We don’t think Brazil is going to face the problems other countries face. We’re not going to be one of these countries completely dependent and defined by the export of oil.

Oil, of course, is an especially valuable commodity to sell, and Brazil now has lots of it. The discovery in 2007 of an oil field the size of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean signalled Brazil’s emergence as a major energy player.
Another important point that was made by the President is in relation to the taking of workers from other sectors of the economy by an oil industry, should it become a reality, particularly bearing in mind that we are already scarce in human resources in many sectors. Therefore, this issue should definitely feature as a priority in the equation.
If Guyana strikes oil it should not be caught unprepared for the new and exciting challenges and, in this regard, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment must be commended for initiating the training programme for the relevant technical officers. This is a demonstration of a proactive approach which has been sadly lacking in many areas. It is hoped that there will be follow-up training programmes in this key and crucial sector.