U.S. Department of State Coordinator for International Energy Affairs (CIEA) David Goldwyn led a U.S. interagency assessment team to Guyana on March 2-4, 2010. The U.S. delegation conducted a needs assessment for the Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative (EGCI), which is a Department of State-led effort to provide a range of capacity-building technical support to the governments and institutions of selected countries that are expected to become oil and gas producing countries during the next decade. In addition to meeting with President Bharrat Jagdeo and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, delegation members met with Minister of Finance Ashni Singh, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Bank of Guyana Governor Lawrence Williams and Guyana Energy Agency Chief Executive Officer Mahender Sharma. The U.S. team held an in-depth technical meeting at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). The delegation also met with the chiefs of missions from the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada as well as with a senior private sector representative involved in oil exploration offshore Guyana.

This visit provided valuable insight into ways in which the Government of Guyana (GOG) could bolster its institutional capacities in order to strengthen oil and gas sector decision making, governance structures and revenue management capability in preparation for a commercial discovery.

BOEMRE Partners/Counterparts in Guyana

	Guyana Energy Agency (GEA)
	Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC)

Activities to Date/Planned

	Workshop on the U.S. Experience in Managing the Oil & Gas Sector (2011). This workshop would provide a comprehensive overview of the responsibilities and activities of the BOEMRE in the United States. This course would include a detailed discussion of how issues relevant to Guyana’s offshore oil and gas sector are handled in the United States. Topics would include: tendering; geologic and economic modeling; reviewing, authorizing, and inspecting exploration and production infrastructure; pipeline management; and environmental review and compliance.
	One-Week Study Tour in the United States (2011). BOEMRE could arrange a visit for up to four GOG officials, who could meet with BOEMRE and USGS staff in the Washington, DC area and travel to Louisiana in order to participate in a U.S. federal offshore oil or gas lease sale, or to visit to an offshore platform to learn how safety inspections are conducted.
	Joint Guyana/Suriname Trans-Boundary Resources Workshop (Summer 2011).

Countries in the EGCI