Insulation of the impending Petroleum Commission must be a priority, according to oil consultant Dr Valerie Marcel.
“Those institutions do risk being populated by individuals who do not have the necessary technical experience but the right political connections. And then once positions are filled, political interference may continue in decision making,” Dr Marcel, who is a Chatham House Fellow and Project Head of the New Petroleum Producers Discussion Group told Sunday Stabroek.
“The lessons from other emerging producer countries are that such institutions need to be established as professional, technocratic bodies. Recruitment and procurement should be done through an open, competitive recruitment process,” she added.
