ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, on Thursday, elaborated on how Guyana’s “unprecedented” transformation could not have taken place without the rule of law and a strong regulatory framework, which underpins the country’s oil and gas sector.
He made these remarks during day three of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, which is being held at the Marriott Hotel, Georgetown.
During his keynote address, Nandlall drew attention to the sweeping legislative architecture that has laid the foundation for Guyana’s meteoric economic rise.
He said: “By international metrics, Guyana is by far, the fastest growing economy in the world. The transformation in the country is unprecedented. It permeates every area of human endeavour.”
As explained by the Attorney-General, the oil and gas sector is not operating in isolation, but it is being used as a catalyst to also propel the non-oil sector.
This has resulted in a commercial surge and in 2025 alone, 36,251 new businesses were registered in Guyana, Nandlall said.
Further, the Minister of Legal Affairs highlighted that as Guyana transforms, so is its legal architecture.
Nandlall made it clear: “Guyana is transforming, and we have the legislative framework, the regulatory framework that will create the cradle from which all these industries are going to be conceived, born, weaned and flourish.”
A series of landmark legal and institutional initiatives are on the cards, and this includes an overhaul of the Companies Act, which was enacted in 1991. Being frank, he said in its current form, the piece of legislation is inadequate for regulating the complex, fast-paced, digital Guyana.
A consultant has already been engaged and broad consultations with the private sector and key stakeholders are expected to begin shortly, the legal affairs minister said.
Other pillars needed for reform which will be pursued are: Electronic Transactions Law, Open Data and Data Protection Law and Law Reform of the Trustees Act.
BUILDING A STRONG LEGAL FOUNDATION
Both during the conference and externally, international observers have likened Guyana’s rapid ascent to major nations like Qatar and Dubai.
While emphasising the importance of strong governance and legal safeguards, the Minister of Legal Affairs pointed to Guyana’ western neighbour, Venezuela to show when these elements are absent, institutional stability can unravel.
Central to Guyana’s responsible management of its resource wealth is the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), he highlighted.
He disclosed that when the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government took office in 2020, there was “no appropriate legislative framework” in place to regulate the sector.
The former A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration had enacted a Natural Resource Bill in 2019, after it was already toppled by the historical No-Confidence Motion, the Attorney General recalled.
The South American nation has received appraisals from globally renowned institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which in its 2025 Article IV Consultation Report, commended Guyana’s careful and rules-based management of its NRF, calling it a key pillar of the country’s long-term economic strategy, Nandlall further pointed out.
The NRF Act of 2021 in Guyana established the NRF, a fund designed to manage the country’s natural resource wealth.
The Act outlines the framework for handling oil revenues, ensuring transparent and accountable management for the benefit of current and future generations. The Bank of Guyana is responsible for the operational management of the fund.
The NRF Act introduced major improvements to the framework for managing oil-and-gas revenues and essential enhancements to the governance and transparency arrangement of the fund. These enhancements to the NRF Act 2021 include the establishment of a Board of Directors which will be responsible for reviewing and approving the policies of the fund and monitoring its performance, thereby separating the management of the fund from the minister responsible for finance.
Additionally, the NRF Act 2021 requires the government to seek parliamentary approval for withdrawals from the fund, and also sets out new, simplified calculations needed for ensuring that the fund achieves its purposes.
The Attorney-General then turned his attention to another critical piece of legislation – the Local Content Act 2021, which he said is almost “purely indigenous and original.”
The Act provides for the implementation of local content obligations and the prioritisation of Guyanese nationals and Guyanese companies in the procurement of goods and services for the advanced enhancement of the value chain of the petroleum sector to enable local capacity development.
Another major piece of legislation the Minister of Legal Affairs made mention of was the Petroleum Activities Act 2023 (Act No. 17 of 2023), which modernised Guyana’s oil and gas legal framework, replacing the 1986 Act.
The Petroleum Activities Act is the next major piece of legislation, which repealed the “outmoded and anachronistic” 1986 Petroleum Production Act.
He also noted that the government has drafted templates of Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) to be used in relation to future oil blocks, emphasising: “Those production agreements that are going to be signed are going to be radically different from the 2016 agreements.”
There were several other pieces of legislation that the Attorney-General referred to that have bolstered the framework of the country’s oil and gas sector.
