ALTHOUGH Guyana is on track to introduce its landmark legislation for oil spills, the government is in no rush to head to parliament, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has said.

It was previously reported that the government was aiming to present the key piece of legislation to the National Assembly before the parliamentary recess on August 10.

“It may be tough to pass it because we may not have the requisite period for notice. We don’t also want to rush it through the parliament,” Dr Jagdeo told reporters on Thursday at his weekly news conference.

Further, Jagdeo noted that government would not begin inviting comments from oil companies operating in Guyana; however, a draft piece of legislation could be available for citizens to give their feedback.

“I’m not sure that we will open this one up for comments, especially from the oil and gas companies, because they want legislation of this nature. Maybe we will open it for comments from the locals,” he said.

Last year, the National Assembly passed the Petroleum Activities Bill 2023 which repealed and replaced the outdated Petroleum Exploration and Production Act of 1986, thus further positioning the country on the path towards responsible, accountable and modern management of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.

This, Dr Jagdeo had previously noted, is a work in progress.

The government he had said is committed to working on measures to protect Guyana’s ecosystem and its people. In fact, the PPP administration he said has practically fulfilled its oil-and-gas agenda.

“We have fulfilled our policy agenda that we promised for the oil-and-gas sector. Now, new things may come on stream,” Jagdeo had said previously.

Recently, Kemraj Parsram, Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), had highlighted that Guyana has made significant strides in strengthening its oil permits, as well as environmental laws and regulations.

In a previous publication, Parsram underscored the nation’s swift progress in this industry, placing strong emphasis on the crucial need to glean insights from international exemplars.

He provided a detailed account of the significant advancements made in the energy sector’s permitting process, ensuring that Guyana will be absolved of any liability in the event of an oil spill.

He said too that the nation’s oil permits have undergone a rigorous strengthening process in order to properly manage the environmental and economic impacts.

In the event of flaring exceeding designated timeframes, the company is obligated to compensate for the emission of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e) at a rate of US$50 per tonne of CO2e.

Parsram also discussed financial assurance which he described as a “big thing.”

He said the Environmental Protection Act is very clear about “full liability” in the event there is an oil spill.

“In the words of the Act, it is strict liability…It means if you’re a permit holder you are fully responsible and [have] fully [sic] liability for any pollution that you cause. And that doesn’t have to be proven.”

Just last week, ExxonMobil Guyana, commissioned a capping stack at the Guyana Shore Base Inc (GYSBI) at Houston, East Bank Demerara.

This equipment is set to bolster the country’s emergency response and spill- containment capability, marking a milestone in ExxonMobil’s commitment to safety and environmental stewardship.

President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Alistair Routledge, said that this is in keeping with the company’s commitment to safety and protection of the environment.
“Day in and day out, our team is laser focused on preventing incidents of any size from ever happening. However, in the unlikely event of an incident, we have state-of-the-art response capabilities in the country and the financial resources to meet any clean-up requirements.”

The Exxon official pointed out that the capping stack is a testament to ExxonMobil’s dedication to maintaining robust in-country technological capabilities.