–Dr Jagdeo says

GUYANA is on track to introducing landmark legislation for oil spills, according to People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.
As the government continues to work on measures to protect Guyana’s ecosystem and its people, Dr. Jagdeo, during a press conference last Thursday, underscored that the PPP administration has practically fulfilled its oil and gas agenda.

He said: “We have fulfilled our policy agenda that we promised for the oil-and-gas sector. Now, new things may come on stream. So, we are working on legislation for oil spills, that we hope will go to the Parliament before the recess,” that is, before the recess period of August 10 to October 10, 2024.
Dr. Jagdeo said that the government has been looking at this for months, since it is aiming to strengthen the law governing how an oil spill is addressed.

“We will determine responsibilities, both from the State side and from the parties causing the spill. We will determine liabilities in that: Who would be liable for what? Where? We’d have to have a mechanism that allows us to immediately tackle the consequences of this spill, but also a mechanism that could lead to the resolution of things like compensation, etc. But often, the oil companies argue if the government comes up with a figure for compensation, then they will argue for a different figure. So, an independent, fair mechanism for all of those things,” he told reporters.

Dr. Jagdeo further noted that as it relates to the Petroleum Commission, this is a work in progress.
Last year, the National Assembly passed the Petroleum Activities Bill 2023 which repealed and replaced the outdated Petroleum Exploration and Production Act of 1986, thus further positioning the country on the path towards responsible, accountable and modern management of the petroleum industry.

According to the PPP General Secretary, these measures will “vastly strengthen the institutional framework that we use to monitor the sector”.