The University of Guyana is keen to widen its educational offers to include the oil and gas sector, but in this pursuit Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, has warned that there is a role for the university in maintaining Guyana’s food security. “We also recognize that we cannot neglect who we essentially are,” Professor Griffith told students at oil and gas presentation held on the university’s Turkeyen campus on Wednesday last.

Some University of Guyana graduates and others in the disciplines of technology, business and other fields of study will cash in big time as a world renowned firm has shown interest to not only hire them, but also to prepare them for the upcoming oil and gas industry. This announcement was made by VICE Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith.

About five hours after Dr. Jan Mangal, Petroleum Advisor to President David Granger delivered a number of hard-hitting criticisms of the controversial ExxonMobil contract, government sought to dissociate itself from his positions.

“The Ministry of the Presidency puts on record that Dr. Jan Mangal, Presidential Advisor on Petroleum, is not authorised to speak on behalf of His Excellency, President David Granger or the Government of Guyana,” the Ministry of the Presidency said in a one-line statement issued at 9:50 PM.

Guyana’s two percent royalty on earnings from ExxonMobil’s oil sales is low compared to global standards, raising concerns about whether there was transparency about the negotiating system,  Dr. Jan Mangal, Petroleum Advisor to President David Granger said Wednesday.

“What we can do is look at what are the international norms. Royalty, when you look around, is more between ten and twenty percent, not two percent,” Dr. Mangal told a discussion  on the Government of Guyana’s Vision for the Oil and Gas Sector held at the University of Guyana’s Education Lecture Theatre.

Advisor to President David Granger on Petroleum, Dr. Jan Mangal has outlined the power of the people to make their voices heard about what is taking place in the oil and gas sector, especially as it relates to the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed between the Government and ExxonMobil. Dr. Mangal made the declaration in response to questions from students of the University of Guyana following an in-depth presentation on the Government of Guyana's Vision for the Oil and Gas Sector. 

The University of Guyana (UG) is in the process of establishing a Petroleum Department as well as a Food and Nutrition Institute.

Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Ivelaw Griffith said the new facilities are timely since Guyana is becoming an oil producing nation but at the same time, needs to improve its capacity in the traditional economic sector of agriculture. 

Professor Griffith announced on the final day of the GIPEX Summit that a study is underway to develop a Department of Petroleum Engineering.

- local scientific institute, logistics base also on the cards

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has disclosed three key objectives which the Government of Guyana will be pursuing in 2018 to consolidate its capacity to effectively service a modern oil and gas industry including a national oil company which will be charged with responsibility for overseeing the country’s commercial interest in the sector.

Today, the University of Guyana began consultations on identifying and meeting demands for engineering and operations management skills in the oil and gas industry.

The one-day symposium was held at the Marriott Hotel, Georgetown. Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, in commending the university for its resourcefulness, noted that this stakeholder engagement advances the local content narrative.

Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman Friday outlined a series of initiatives the government is currently engaged in to create an enabling environment for the oil and gas industry to thrive and for the nation to “flourish.”

“This new sector will provide increased revenue for the country whilst offering significant opportunities for the development of our businesses and talents.

“To say that it will be transformative will be to understate its impact,” Trotman said at a symposium organised by the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Technology.

Oil needs ‘a whole new architecture’ of public sector workers

Public sector reform is in a comatose state despite years of work and an investment of millions of US dollars, Professor Michael E. Scott, who also serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, has said.

He indicated that this was troubling at a time when Guyana is about to experience radical transformation with the game-changing oil and gas sector.