THE Department of Energy, which is currently housed in the Ministry of the Presidency, will soon be shifted to a new facility.

A reliable source told the Guyana Chronicle that the department will be moved to a building on Brickdam, where the United Nations (UN)’s office was once located.

The imminent shift was confirmed by Director of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, during a press conference at the National Communications Network (NCN), on Wednesday. “We’re just about to move in to a new premises, so, hopefully the next time we have a press conference it will be in our premises,” said Dr. Bynoe.

In addition to making preparations for a shift, the department has been putting together its technical unit, which will include chemical engineers, petroleum engineers, reservoir engineers and so forth. Dr. Bynoe said the department is improving its staff complement in preparation for first oil, which could possibly come in December this year. In order to build capacity, the department has been working with agencies such as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Ministry of Finance, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and others.

The department has also been and continues to be guided by advice from its Oil and Gas Adviser, Matthew Wilks. “Wilks is still with the department, but under a different arrangement…he is not in Guyana, he is on a call off,” said Dr. Bynoe.

Wilks’ current arrangement was his preference because he has a relatively young family and could not be away for a long period of time. Despite the arrangement, Wilks will be able to efficiently guide the department. The department will be utilising all the assistance and advice it could get, since Dr. Bynoe said there is a lot more to be done.

The Department of Energy, which was established on August 1, falls directly under the Ministry of the Presidency and follows a proposal by Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman, to have specialised attention placed on the petroleum sector, given the complexity of tasks that exist with the administering of such resources. The department is, however, expected to evolve into a ministry. President David Granger had said that his administration’s intention is to establish a ministry that would be responsible for the oil-and-gas sector, but he said the Ministry of Energy would not likely be established before 2020.