WITH the intention of introducing improvements and security in Guyana’s oil-and-gas sector, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat on Thursday presented the Petroleum Activities Bill of 2023 to the National Assembly.
The Bill, which has been in the works for quite some time, was read for the first time in the House, and is expected to ensure the country’s petroleum sector is managed in accordance with modern practices and effectively.

According to the Bill’s explanatory memorandum, it seeks to repeal and replace the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act and the Petroleum (Production) Act, and to make provisions for the regulation of exploration for petroleum in Guyana, including the territorial sea, contiguous zone, and exclusive economic zone of Guyana among others.
The Bill also provides for the regulation and production, storage and transportation of its petroleum resources and other related matters.

In June of this year, the Bill was released by the Ministry of Natural Resources, and was part of the efforts of the government to modernise the legal and regulatory framework related to the petroleum sector.

In the announcement, the ministry said that the Bill introduces major improvements and security, encompassing safety, emergency response, cross-border unitisation, supervision and monitoring requirements.

The Bill further expands the framework of regulation to include storage and pipeline transportation components of the oil-and -gas sector, and authorises the government to regulate activities connected with geological storage of carbon dioxide.
Additionally, it will enable the government to develop petroleum resources, while aiming to minimise their carbon footprint because of the existing opportunities for potential CO2 storage sites.

The Natural Resources Ministry, in its announcement stated: “The government has been continuously working to improve the overall management and regulation of the petroleum industry through various policy and legislative programmes.”