|
Energy
Minister Conrad Enill said his ministry is pursuing an organistation
transformation plan designed to make it more customer focused
and efficient in the delivery of services.
Accordingly, Government will be engaging the services of
a consultant to develop a Natural Gas Governance Framework.
Other initiatives include the establishment of an integrated
oil company and the review of performances of regulatory
agencies in the servicing of the sector, he said.
“An
important element of the management of the sector is its
legialative framework. The Petroleum Act and Regulations
govern both oil and gas operations within the sector. Given
that the act and regulations were principally designed to
treat with oil operations, they do not effectively address
the ambit of gas related issues,” he said.
He said his ministry was implementing the recommendations
of the 2007 Ryder Scott Gas Reserves Audit which included
a high level of exploration activity leading to drilling
of exploration prospects to build the probable and possible
reserves base.
“To
this end the Bid Rounds have been scheduled for shallow
blocks in North Coast Marine Area and South East Coast Area
in late 2008 and for the Deep Atlantic in 2009.
“In
the audit, Ryder Scott also maintained that the new companies
have important gas resources that can significantly impact
on reserves replacement. This assessment has been corroborated
by the recent natural gas finds in excess of two trillion
cubic feet by PetroCanada and Canadian Superior,” he
said. (AJ)
|
