In Guyana, an environmental law “appears to have been written by oil companies”
Faced with criticism of its lack of preparedness to exploit the country's significant oil reserves, Irfaan Ali's government has passed an environmental risk law. However, critics say the law limits ExxonMobil's responsibilities.
Nothing, neither opposition criticism nor environmental warnings, prevented the Guyana Congress from adopting the highly controversial "Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Liability Act" on May 16. The legislation is proving controversial, as the oil and gas sector in this small South American country, with a population of about 800,000, is booming.
Landlocked in the northern Amazon, between Venezuela and Suriname, Guyana has been in the spotlight since the American company ExxonMobil discovered enormous oil reserves along its coast in 2015, estimated at 11 billion barrels.
In this context, the government of Irfaan Ali presented a bill in May 2025 designed to address "the growing scale of oil operations and maritime transport activities" in order to "mitigate environmental risks," recalls the local media Stabroek News . The program includes the creation of a civil defense commission and sanctions of up to $2 billion (€1.75 billion).
But the length of the title of this law alone should have raised concerns.
Courrier International
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