— former TT energy minister offers advice on Petroleum Bill

FORMER Minister of Energy of Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Kevin Ramnarine said the draft Petroleum Commission Bill should be revised to lessen the power of the subject minister over the Petroleum Commission and to build public confidence in that agency.

Ramnarine was at the time addressing businesspersons at the Linden Enterprise Network on Monday.

He based his advice on his experience in the energy sector and on the mistakes made by his own government which have resulted in State-owned energy company Petrotrin being bankrupt.

He commended the government for drafting the 28 page bill which is presently before a Special Select Parliamentary Committee, but stated that it should be made right from the start, since not doing so will create permanent problems.

“It’s a piece of work that they have done… it is one of the most important pieces of law that will ever be passed in this country… if you get it wrong from the start it is very likely that you will get it wrong all together, it is better you get it right from day one,” he said.

Ramnarine also said that it is paramount that the commission be instituted earliest since it is less than three years since Exxon will commence oil production and in doing so, the government should remember that accountability should be given priority since the oil belongs to the people.

The bill proposes that Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman will appoint the board which includes nine members and a commissioner but the commissioner cannot vote.

Ramnarine, however, suggested that the minister should appoint the board and the board should appoint the commissioner.

The secretary of the board will also be appointed by the minister. Ramnarine however stated that the secretary should be an attorney-at law.

“I do not see that in the Act, this is a board that is running a petroleum commission that will command 60 per cent of the Guyana economy in the near future, so the bill should therefore say, there shall be a corporate secretary and the corporate secretary should have qualifications in law.”

The bill also proposes that out of the nine directors, one should be a member of the Opposition, which should also be appointed by the minister. Ramnarine proposes that the bill should state that the member of the Opposition should be appointed on the advice of the Opposition Leader.

MINIMISE CONFLICT
“What we are trying to do is to minimise conflict… and it creates tension in society, it has to legislate for that not to happen,” he posited, adding that rather than a member of civil society or academia be added to the board, it should be from both sectors of society.

He also proposed that a member of the Guyana Lands and Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency should sit on the board, thus making it more effective.

In addition to the membership, Ramnarine further suggested that the life of the board should be more than one year.

“I would give the board a longer term; I would give the board, maybe three or five years.” The commission, he said should not be micro-managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and should be given the needed autonomy to function effectively.

Former Minister Ramnarine encouraged the government to make sure credibility is given precedence since public trust of the commission is paramount in addition to it earning the respect of the international oil and gas companies.

The energy expert articulated that Guyana has a chance to start on a clean slate and should use this to study the many oil producing companies in the world and to use each performance to decide where the country should be; whether it should be close to Norway, one of the leading oil producing companies in the world, or closer to Venezuela, which is currently experiencing an economic crises.

The six-part Petroleum Commission Bill has 51 sections which cover areas pertaining to the establishment and incorporation of the Petroleum Commission, functions and duties of the Commission, and financing among others.

The Bill makes provision for the establishment of a Petroleum Commission to serve as a regulatory agency for Guyana’s oil and gas industry.

The establishment of a new regulatory agency will see the responsibility being taken from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).