October 12,2016 Source

The GOGA Board poses with Minister of Foreign Affairs,Carl Greenidge (fifth from right),Canadian High Commissioner Pierre Giroux, (second from right) and Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank, Sophie Makonnen.

Promising to be a voice of the citizenry that will not only assist in the creation of employment opportunities but ensure there is transparency and equitable distribution of benefits from the nascent oil and gas sector here, the Guyana Oil and Gas Association was last evening launched at the Marriott Hotel.

The organisation wants to assure the nation that it will never be an elite club for only the “wealthy boys and girls” and that the people of Guyana should take it  to task if ever they see them slipping.

“Our mandate has to be accountable to membership and to the people of the country and when they find us slipping they should be able to call us to task. Let us know that we are losing focus of what we initially set out to do,” President and Chief Executive Officer Bobby Gopnauth Gossai told Stabroek News, last evening. Gossai had been a Senior Policy Analyst in the Department of Governance, Natural Resource and the Environment under the PPP/C government.

Gossai asserted, “It is within our objective that we want to work with every aspect of the society, every facet of the economy. We want to work with civil society, other private sector organisations, non-governmental organisations, and government …to help bring the knowledge of oil and gas and what oil and gas can do for a country and how effective oil and gas can benefit a country here. We want to be a fora for the discussion of oil and gas and the development of communities. Not just corporations, not just investors and businesses and suppliers because the ownership of the oil resources are the citizens of this country. Hold us to our word hold us to our mandate.”

Speaking at the well-attended event, Director of GOGA, attorney Nigel Hughes, underscored why Guyana needed an organisation like it.

He reasoned that  with a current  estimated world price of US$72B worth  of oil set to be extracted from ExxonMobil’s Liza discovery offshore Guyana, GOGA can help to see a  holistic development plan for the potential revenues to be garnered.

“More importantly, perhaps, is how do we avoid the challenges and pitfalls which have devastated other countries that have had enjoyed similar discoveries in the past. The Guyana Oil and Gas Association has its origins in the deep commitment to members, to ensure that the development of this national resource, is conducted in such a manner that Guyanese enjoy the maximum short, medium and long term benefits, from the responsible management of this asset. The Board of directors are keenly aware that Guyana, a country with no history of oil production, the excitement created by first oil can potentially create unrealistic expectations and the adoption of less than prudent approaches for the management of the revenues generated from this national resource,” Hughes said.

“Many issues arise when discussing first oil. Should production be expedited? Should it be delayed? When will be the optimum time for the country to commence production? GOGA recognises that the government has the best intentions for the country at heart. It is an excellent start, but the major challenge looming ahead of us as a country, is the creation of institutions, government structures, policies and the development of human resources necessary for the beneficial development of this national resource. Collectively as a country, we will need to find the right solution for the migration of our development structure and developmental plans from traditional reliance as a primary production to integrated value added and sustainable industry. Perhaps, more importantly will be the task of developing the energy industry so that it becomes the major drive for economic development, while laying a platform for the significant development of our people, our enterprises, our capital markets, innovation and technology,” he added.

Hughes believes that one of the long term national priorities must be how we as a country create an integrated and fully developed energy sector that is the key driver of a sustainable local and regional economy, while attaining global competitiveness in all the sub sectors.

He said that GOGA will encourage and collaborate with the government to ensure that there is investment in local capacity, in areas such engineering, fabricating, construction including services providing logistics consulting and disaster management among others.

Among GOGA’s broad objectives are also to protect, promote, foster and advance the interest of all Guyanese involved in all aspects of oil and gas production in Guyana while promoting, protecting and ensuring transparency, fair competition and equitable distribution of the benefits of the exploitation of the country’s oil and gas resources.

The organisation sets out to also be the “clearing house for discussion of issues affecting the performance of the sector with government and regulatory agencies as it will engage government and governmental agencies and all other related industries, on matters affecting the local sector.

For persons looking for advice on services they can provide for the industry GOGA says it will be a point of contact.   As such the association will establish a database of potential service and products providers with their relevant contact information to share with potential clients.

For his part, acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge said that government plans to work with GOGA to ensure that the people of the country reap the benefits of the newfound sector.