–Dr Jagdeo announces

GENERAL Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, during a press conference on Thursday, said that the much-anticipated Petroleum Activities Bill, along with the new model Production-Sharing Agreements (PSAs), will be tabled at the next sitting of the National Assembly in August.

According to Dr Jagdeo: “…So, we’ll have a finalised PSA and also the new petroleum activities law, which were the two preconditions that we set ourselves before we conclude the bid round [auction of oil blocks].”
The parliamentary recess begins in August, but the new Bill should be tabled in the National Assembly at the August 3 sitting.
The PPP General Secretary also said that this provides adequate time for potential bidders to submit their bids.
“So, both would be ready and that will give enough time to the potential bidders to submit their bids and that’s why I think it’s the 10th of September we discuss,” Dr Jagdeo related.

The Ministry of Natural Resources, on behalf of the Government of Guyana, through a press release, announced the extension of the Guyana 2022 Licensing Round’s bid submission deadline to Tuesday, September 12, 2023.
“The government’s continuous efforts to streamline and improve the petroleum regulatory framework and the resultant comprehensive feedback received from our stakeholders have led to this necessary extension,” the Natural Resources Ministry said in the press statement.

Whilst recognising the new era of oil and gas development and investors’ confidence in the local economy, the government is working to ensure that this competitive licensing bids and future rounds are governed by a modern regulatory framework with improved technical and institutional capacities.

Against this backdrop, the government will soon supplement the model PSAs with a new Petroleum Activities Bill 2023, which will not only enhance the management of the sector but also provide improved economic measures for all licencees in the bidding round, as well as future development and production operations in Guyana’s petroleum sector.

The round, officially launched on December 9, 2022, continues to receive strong global interest. The government has benefitted from insightful feedback during the consultation periods of the Indicative Terms and Guidelines, the draft model PSAs, and the draft Petroleum Activities Bill.

The Ministry of Natural Resources, and, by extension, the Government of Guyana, remains committed to the successful execution of the Guyana 2022 Licensing Round and the strengthening of the nation’s fiscal and legal petroleum management frameworks.
The government, in June, released the draft Petroleum Activities Bill, and made it available for public consultations.

The Petroleum Activities Bill seeks to replace the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 1986, and is part of efforts by the government to modernise the legal and regulatory framework related to the petroleum sector.

“We had a global firm that worked on this with enormous experience in this sector. We looked at similar framework legislation globally and a lot of the issues addressed in those modern pieces of legislation where we were deficient in our laws have been addressed.
“A lot of the issues will be dealt [with] subsequently, after the passage of the bill, through regulations,” Dr Jagdeo said.

It was last December that the government launched the first auction for the development of 14 new oil blocks, which includes 11 in shallow water, and the other three in deep water. The blocks being put up for auction range in acreage from 1,000 sq. km to 3,000 sq. km.