Inspenet, June 22, 2023.
Officials will have to abide by a new law
Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources released a new Petroleum Activities Bill this week that includes stringent measures aimed at preventing government officials and their family members from holding petroleum licences.
The proposed law provides that no government official or their family members may acquire or attempt to acquire a license or have any interest in it for personal purposes. In addition, the legislation also seeks to prevent them from having participation in legal persons in charge of carrying out operations related to the exploration, production, storage and transportation of oil through pipelines in the South American country.
What will be the sanctions involved in this new restriction?
If any public official or their family member attempted to violate this provision, they would be subject to a speedy trial and could face a fine of up to ten million dollars and a prison sentence of one year. Likewise, in case of possession or participation in an acquired legal entity, it will also be confiscated by the State.
Prosecution cases : will there be exceptions?
Under the proposed legislation, in case of prosecution for its violation, a sufficient defense will be considered if the accused person demonstrates that the license, interest or participation was acquired in accordance with the law and, as soon as possible after your acquisition, were removed or reasonable steps are being taken to remove them.
Another ground for a defense is if the accused person demonstrates that the license or interest was acquired before he became a public official or before the entity obtained the legal right to carry out activities related to exploration, production, storage and oil transportation in Guyana. The defendant must also demonstrate that, as soon as possible after becoming a public official or after the legal entity acquires that right, the license, interest therein, or interest has been disposed of or that steps are being taken to do it.
Guyana is currently conducting a bidding round for 14 shallow and deep water oil blocks off its coast. Interest in the property is at an all-time high due to the discovery of more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent by ExxonMobil since 2015 in an area known as the Stabroek Block .
The aforementioned country began producing oil in 2019 and is expected to become one of the main producers in the region by the end of the decade.
For now, the public consultation phase of the Oil Activities Law project will last two weeks, since it began on June 20 and will end on July 3. This phase will be available for public comments and you can view it on the following websites: www.nre.gov.gy and www.petroluem.gov.gy .
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