Introduction
After seven consecutive weeks, today’s column draws to a close my rather extended (albeit selective) excursion into this year’s National Budget and its treatment of the country’s emergent oil and gas sector. Important areas of treatment in the Budget have not been considered; for example, the Budget treatment of policy recommendations on institutional capability and resource governance of oil and gas. My intention is to address these where appropriate as the column series unfolds.
It is important to acknowledge that the Budget gives no indication at all of a stressful relationship between the Government of Guyana, GoG, as the petroleum resource owner, and ExxonMobil and partners, as the Contractor, under the extant Production Sharing Agreement, PSA. Indeed, to the contrary, mainly on account of two recent occurrences. These are: firstly, the Contractor has indicated it is on trend to adjust upwardly its longstanding target of 750,000 barrels of oil equivalent, boe per day by 2025/2026; and, secondly, the role announced for ExxonMobil in the proposed natural gas-to-shore project.
