The management of a nation’s oil industry is inextricably linked to its government and politics. This relationship has been highlighted in Guyana in recent months, as major and minor political parties have campaigned to control and influence Guyana’s nascent industry.

As is so often the case in political campaigns, many of the views and plans shared over the preceding months have been broad in scope and light on details.

For example, political leaders have put forward plans for how to best utilise revenues, such as the potential for a cash transfer system in which all Guyanese would receive payouts from industry proceeds. Other ideas have included large-scale infrastructure investments and a reappraisal of education and health systems. Yet it is still not entirely clear how those concepts would be implemented.

Elections also spur sensationalism, and many will be familiar with the major focus on the strength and fairness of Guyana’s offshore contracts. The highly-publicised and controversial report by the international organisation Global Witness, which concluded that Guyana is missing out on US$55 billion, was released just a month before elections.

While both the government and Opposition reasserted their intent to respect the Stabroek block contract, the Opposition and some smaller parties have suggested that other contracts or terms would need to be revisited. There is also a general acknowledgment that future contracts will include more beneficial terms to reflect Guyana’s producer status. Once again, it is still not clear what this would entail.

But with campaigns concluded and a new administration taking shape, it is vital that Guyana gets back to business.

As this column has pointed out, Guyana continues to make progress preparing for oil. The government, and Department of Energy in particular, has set up the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) to take in oil revenues.

Regulatory capabilities are also rapidly expanding. Systems are also in place to ensure officials from Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) are on board oil production ships to ensure the integrity of the process. The government is already in the process of selling its first lift of crude oil.

Yet there is still much work to be done on revenue management, depletion policies, business regulations, oil marketing and more. More work is needed to build institutional capabilities and knowledge to support all these programs.

Successfully and quickly executing these considerable tasks will be a priority for the next administration.

To meet these goals, Guyana will continue to receive and rely on support from groups like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Commonwealth Secretariat. For example, the Department of Energy is currently working with the World Bank on a $20 million project titled: “Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project” to help boost institutional capacity and preparedness.

It will also be important for preparations and policies to be conducted in a transparent manner. The Department of Energy has provided regular updates on its progress to date, and Guyanese will continue to expect clarity on developments from the next administration.

International focus on Guyana will be high throughout this process, so it is important to move quickly and efficiently. Continuing timely project approvals for development and continuing to reform business policies can exhibit stability and certainty to international companies and investors that Guyana is back to business as usual following a close election campaign.

Maintaining investor confidence is important if Guyana wants to capitalise on the opportunity the oil industry offers to expand and bolster our economy as a whole.

This is all the more important given the current uncertainty in the global energy market. As oil prices have dropped sharply since the start of the new year, many international companies are reevaluating major investments and making difficult decisions about whether to move forward.

Guyana will have to maintain confidence at home and abroad as it moves into the next phase of industry development. With revenues forecasted to be in the US tens of billions annually in just a few short years, the race is on to finalise revenue management systems, policies and spending plans to tap the full transformative potential that offshore production presents for this and future generations.