The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has outlined its plan for Guyana’s oil sector which includes a strategic hunt for more oil through new contracts for exploration.
On Monday afternoon, the party unveiled its 2025 manifesto at the Pegasus Suites & Corporate Center in Georgetown.
For the period 2025 to 2030, the PPP plans to conclude the Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) from the 2022 auction, which saw interest from several companies under the new and enhanced terms of the PSA. The party noted that the signing of these agreements would lead to new oil blocks undergoing exploration and eventually moving to oil production.
The PPP’s next term will also see the completion of 3D seismic surveys across unlicensed blocks, and the operationalization of Guyana’s Petroleum Data Repository. The repository will contain data on Guyana’s oil reserves and further enhance the marketability of the basin. This forms part of the party’s plan as the PPP also promises to conduct more international auctions of additional blocks, to further ramp up exploration and production in Guyana.
The manifesto states, “The rapidly expanding sector will benefit from robust oversight, a more favourable PSA, a petroleum data repository, and the implementation of a strategy that would encourage investment in infrastructure to monetise our gas reserves.”
Further, the party said in its next term it will complete a review of the Local Content Law, which was introduced in 2021 to ensure Guyanese and Guyanese companies benefit from the oil and gas sector. The review of the legislation will be in consultation with several stakeholders.
Notably, the PPP plans to examine the possibility of expanding the applicability of the Local Content Act to other sectors, particularly gold and bauxite mining, especially in light of imminent large-scale developments.
The party also plans to continue training and over the next five years, with the aim of optimising the benefits from the resources. capacity-building efforts to equip more Guyanese nationals for quality jobs in the oil and gas sector, and to enable more Guyanese companies to compete for business opportunities in the industry.
Moreover, the manifesto also outlined that there will be continued strong governance and transparency in the sector. PPP said it will continue to oversee the industry in a responsible manner, ensuring that the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) is managed transparently and that all transfers from the NRF are made through the parliamentary budgetary process and subject to parliamentary oversight.
The PPP said that it will ensure operators comply with environmental and technical standards at all times, while also continuing to build capacity within relevant government agencies for stronger oversight and independent monitoring of operations.
Additionally, the party says that in their next term there will be continued compliance with applicable international standards, particularly the Santiago Principles and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
