ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – The recently appointed Hydrocarbons Technical Working Group is to submit a report on the technical and economic feasibility of developing Grenada’s hydrocarbon reserves.
In addition, it will also have to provide a report on the potential environmental and social impacts of hydrocarbon exploration and development in Grenada, as well as strategies to mitigate these impacts.
Cabinet appointed the working group, chaired by former finance minister Nizam Burke, including Richard Duncan, the advisor to Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell; Raymond Nurse, a Grenadian geologist residing in Germany; and Rodney George, the chairman of the Grenada Electricity Services (GRENLEC).
A representative from the Attorney General Chamber and a nominee from Civil Society Organisations (CSO) will also be included in the working group.
Among the group’s objectives is to assess Grenada’s hydrocarbon potential fully and, if found to be commercially viable, devise a strategy and action plan to explore, develop, and monetize such findings for the country’s benefit.
Last month, Governor General Dame Cecile La Grenade announced that the government would be establishing a committee to investigate the status of Grenada’s oil and gas, saying then that there was no information provided during the transition between the previous government and Mitchell administration that came to power following the June 2022 general election.
In an interview with the Government Information Service (GIS) following Dame Cecile’s announcement, Prime Minister Mitchell said that no information can be found in any ministry.
According to a notice in the October 27 publication of the Government Gazette and a local newspaper, the technical group will also be required to develop a communication strategy to engage stakeholders, including communities, civil society organizations, and the private sector, as well as outline recommendations for potential partners and investors, including a plan to attract and retain them.
“A stakeholder engagement plan that outlines the approach, mechanisms, and processes for engaging with relevant stakeholders throughout the exploration and development process” is also included among the terms of reference of the technical working group.
In 2021, then-prime minister Dr. Keith Mitchell said his administration is “not very hopeful” of foreign investors seeking to develop further the island’s maritime space where commercial hydrocarbon find had been confirmed in 2018.
He told reporters that the global effort towards renewable energy at the expense of fossil fuel could hamper Grenada’s plans for the oil and energy sector.
In 2018, St. George’s announced that hydrocarbons were found in substantial commercial quantities and, that one well with millions of cubic feet of gas was currently being evaluated, and there are several other wells to be drilled.
The government had also announced then that it had issued a license to the Russian-based Global Petroleum Group to conduct the necessary exploration activities to locate oil and natural gas within the island’s territorial waters. In June 2017, Parliament approved the Hydro Carbon Exploration Incentive Bill 2017, outlining a package of incentives for oil and gas exploration to any company.
and then 