MEDIA RELEASE

Gov’t releases draft Petroleum Activities Bill 2023

Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana (June 19, 2022) The Ministry of Natural Resources, on behalf of the Government of Guyana, announces the release of the Draft Petroleum Activities Bill of 2023 for public consultation. The Petroleum Activities Bill is intended to replace the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 1986 and is part of efforts by the Government of Guyana to modernize the legal and regulatory framework related to the petroleum sector.

The Bill introduces significant improvements and safeguards related to safety, emergency response, cross-border unitization, supervision, and monitoring requirements. It also authorises the Minister with Responsibility for Petroleum to prescribe regulations regarding critical administrative and operational aspects of exploration and production activities.

The draft petroleum Bill also expands the scope of the proposed Act to regulate storage and pipeline transportation aspects of the oil and gas sector, and empower the government to regulate activities associated with the geological storage of carbon dioxide. The exploration of opportunities for potential CO2 storage sites will enable the government to further develop Guyana’s’ petroleum resources while seeking to continuously minimize our carbon footprint.

The Bill is expected to be supplemented by a set of regulations that will follow in the coming months and provide the government with the necessary legislative framework for responsible and efficient management of petroleum activities within the Guyanese economy. The government will also ensure that the terms of the draft petroleum agreements released in association with the first offshore licensing round are aligned with the provisions of the Petroleum Activities Bill.

The government has been continuously working to improve the overall management and regulation of the petroleum industry through various policy and legislative programmes. These programmes included the enactment of the Local Content Act of 2021, along with the establishment of a Local Content Secretariat. A new Natural Resource Fund Act was put into practice to provide greater oversight and management of revenue flows. There have also been new environmental permitting conditions and fees for successive licenses which have been issued, as well as the conducting of cost recovery audits covering the periods from 1999 to 2022.

The draft Bill is now available for public consultation feedback for a period of two (2) weeks commencing from Tuesday, 20^th June to Tuesday, July 4^th July 2023. Comments should be emailed to jmckenzie@nre.gov.gy. You can access the draft Bill on the following websites nre.gov.gy and petroluem.gov.gy.

Download Draft Petroleum Activities Bill 

END