THE revised Petroleum Commission Bill will be presented to the National Assembly only after the local content policy is adequately developed, according to Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.

The Bill was tabled in 2017 by the previous administration but it was flagged by several stakeholders for concentrating too many powers in the hands of the Minister of Natural Resources. Then, before assuming office, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) indicated that it would revise this Bill before it is passed into legislation.

In a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Minister Bharrat emphasised, “Our position remains the same as in 2017; we believe that the sector should not be run by politicians but by technical, capable people who are qualified and trained to manage the sector effectively without political interference.”

Bharrat explained that currently, stakeholders are reworking this Bill before it is re-tabled in Parliament; however, he said that there is a panel of experts currently working on the local content policy which will also be made into legislation. Local content, he explained, is a prerequisite for the petroleum commission.

“We are hoping that we can tie both into each other because the Petroleum Commission Bill will have to make provisions for the local content too; so you would appreciate that we will have to get the local content out first and then factor that into the petroleum commission,” the minister explained.

While he could not provide a definitive timeline, he opined that the Petroleum Commission Bill could be re-tabled sometime next year, in the first quarter at earliest, paving the way for constitution of the commission, which will govern the operations of Guyana’s nascent oil-and-gas industry.

“Hopefully, we can have that commission in place sometime year- and mid-next year would be ideal but it is something we have to work towards,” the minister said.

In 2017 former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, tabled the Petroleum Commission of Guyana Bill of 2017 during the 64th sitting of the 11th Parliament. The Bill was to be taken to a Special Select Committee at a later sitting of the National Assembly after its second reading; however, to date, it has not yet been passed.