What form will gov’t/private sector partnership on oil and gas take?

Dear Editor,

In one of the dailies I read that the recent world class offshore oil discovery by Exxon Mobil Co, (the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas company) has firmly launched Guyana’s hydrocarbon industry and that the Government of Guyana was proposing in association with the Private Sector to construct an onshore base with associated infrastructure in order to support and serve the fledgling offshore Oil and Gas Sector.

I would like to seek some clarification as it relates to the whole question of “in association with the Private Sector”. Is it intended that this association would take the form of the establishment of a Government/ Private/Public Entity where the Government would offer to the Public a Government sponsored Initial Public Offering (IPO) or that the chosen Private Sector Company (Private Company??) would launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) or any other form of Public Offering.

I believe that the proposed activity, the establishment of an onshore base etc etc, offers to the Government and the Private Sector an early opportunity to diversify the ownership base of the proposed entity and at the same time provide access to capital and give Guyanese etc, etc, etc, a chance to own shares in an entity that is intended to support and serve the fledgling offshore Oil and Gas Sector.

Yours faithfully,

Dunstan Barrow