By Navendra Seoraj
IN preparation for the development of the country’s oil and gas sector, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan and Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman will be heading off to an oil and gas mentorship programme in Uganda, East Africa.
According to a release, the ministers will be part of a four-person delegation, which includes officers from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, participating in the programme being held in Kampala, Uganda from July 4–8, 2016.The programme is designed to formulate the prospective steps for Guyana as it prepares for oil production.
This mentorship exchange programme is being facilitated by Chatham House, the New Petroleum Producers Discussion Group, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Natural Resources Governance Institute.

Chatham House extended the invitation to Guyana in March 2016 following the New Petroleum Producers Discussion Group National Seminar in Kenya. Uganda was identified and approved as a suitable mentor, having recently completed its preparation for oil production which is set to begin in 2017.
Since Guyana is on a similar path, it will gain valuable insights from the recent experiences of Uganda, which has established needed frameworks and institutions and has been diligent in its approach to developing its oil and gas sector, the statement said.

On Thursday, oil giant ExxonMobil announced that a “world-class discovery” of between equivalent of 800 million and 1.4 billion barrels of oil following the drilling of the Liza-2 well in the Stabroek Bloc offshore Guyana.
The discovery is the company’s second exploration offshore Guyana; the first was made in May, 2015.

As such, with this in mind, the Guyana/Uganda mentorship exchange will include discussions with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development; the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development; visits to oil fields; waste management and specialised facilities and engagements with international oil companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to exchange knowledge and ideas.

Chatham House is an independent policy institute that engages Governments, the private sector, civil society and its members in open debate and confidential discussion on the most significant developments in international affairs and carries out independent and rigorous analyses of critical global, regional and country-specific challenges and opportunities.
It also works with key partners, namely, the New Petroleum Producers Group which provides a setting for open conversation on the oil and gas industry in the context of new and emerging states, the Commonwealth Secretariat, which through designated team members, has been assisting Guyana to develop its National Upstream Oil and Gas Policy and petroleum sector legislation, and the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI) which focuses on the measurement and assessment of natural resource governance.