Govt. cleared permits for over US$55M in oil investments by local firms

Jan 10, 2021 News

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– APNU+AFC had them waiting for 2.5 years – VP Jagdeo

Kaieteur News – Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo revealed last month that upon assumption of office, he made sure to clear four sets of work permits for local firms that had approached the government with planned investments combined to total more than US$55M. He added that the former government had these firms waiting more than two and a half years, despite their applications being above board.
These and other comments were made on December 23, 2020 during a special edition of the Kaieteur Radio show, Guyana’s Oil & You, anchored by Kaieteur News Senior Journalist, Kiana Wilburg.
During the heated discourse, Kaieteur News publisher Glenn Lall challenged the Vice President on his commitments to local content. Lall has long held that the current configuration of the oil sector allows foreign firms to have an unfair advantage in the oil & gas value chain, and so walk away with the lion’s share of the wealth.
“Since we got into office,” Dr. Jagdeo said in response, “I’ve personally intervened to clear four sets of working permits that the people were waiting for, for over two and a half years. They met every requirement, all Guyanese companies, over US$55 million.”
However, the Vice President sought to note that the oil and gas sector is a capital intensive one, and that there is a necessity for foreign firms as well, since Guyana does not have the capital to meet all the needs of the petroleum industry.
“To develop an offshore facility or any oil and gas industry far outweighs the capability of the country…” he said.
The VP noted, for example, that the Liza Phase One project has an estimated cost of US$3.5 billion, while Liza Two is estimated at US$6 billion and Payara at US$9 billion. The total cost of these three is estimated at US$18.5 billion dollars.
Notwithstanding this, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has stated that it would not repeat the mistakes of the David Granger administration in its local content policy. So far, the government has installed a local content advisory panel, which presented its first report of recommendations based on consultation with key stakeholders like the private sector. The panel is expected to provide the government with another report, briefer and refined. These reports, according to Jagdeo, will shape the national consultations President, Dr. Irfaan Ali is expected to have with the nation on local content. The government has committed to making the panel’s reports public.

 

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