Guyana to hire overseas experts for Department of Energy

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 April 2018, 10:45 by Denis Chabrol

President David Granger on Wednesday said government would be turning its attention to overseas hire experts to staff the Department of Energy in the Ministry of the Presidency.

With a road-map already in place, the Guyanese leader said the search would extend for a building and “quality personnel” for the Department.

Saying that already “there is progress”, Granger acknowledged that one of the major challenges is finding the right personnel to lead that important department into the future.

“As you know, Guyana has no experience in the field and we have a very small Petroleum Unit, which is now in the Ministry of Natural Resources, and we obviously have to attract the best people from around the world so we are not attempting to avoid that responsibility; that’s why we are careful” he said.

The President said  “we are aiming at a world class industry so we have to get the best persons.”

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman has said that the Department of Energy was borne out of a proposal to the President because of the increasing size of the industry.

An inter-ministerial task force has since been established to oversee the creation of the new Department which would be responsible for all policy matters, including, but not limited to, the negotiating and entering into contracts, and issuing of licences for exploration and production.

Government has dismissed suggestions that the Department of Energy is being established in response to intensified criticisms about the Production Sharing Agreement between Guyana and ExxonMobil.