TERMS OF REFERENCE

GUYANA PETROLEUM RESOURCES GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT PROJECT
(P166730)

CONSULTING SERVICES FOR NATURAL GAS NEGOTIATIONS SPECIALIST

1. BACKGROUND

As Guyana moves into a new chapter of history as an emerging petroleum producing nation, sustainable development lies at the core of the Government of Guyana’s goals for the sector. Being keenly aware that petroleum is a non-renewable resource, considerations related to its extraction and conversion into financial capital highlight the requirement and responsibility to ensure that the resource is prudently managed, from the time petroleum ‘appears’ at the wellhead, for the long-lasting benefit of Guyana. In developing the policies, legal framework, institutions and systems to oversee and manage the sector, the Government of Guyana is committed to ensuring that this framework allows both present and future generations to reap the benefits.

Guyana’s petroleum sector is progressing swiftly with first oil expected in 2020. This planned petroleum development, coupled with ongoing assessment of new discoveries, has led the Government of Guyana to focus on ramping up preparations to oversee the upstream sector (exploration, development and production); to develop policy and legislation, to build up internal capacity building, to promote governance and transparency, and to undertake financial and economic planning.

The proposed Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project (the ‘Project’) is supported by the World Bank and aims to enhance the Government’s capacity to achieve its management goals for the petroleum sector through interventions focused on supporting the enhancement of legal and institutional frameworks and the strengthening of the capacity of key institutions to manage the oil and gas sector in Guyana.

2. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF WORK

The objective of this assignment is to provide advisory services and technical support towards the establishment of a natural gas negotiations function within the Department of Energy under the Ministry of the Presidency, including:

• Provision of advice on the regional and international natural gas market;
• Provision of an independent technical opinion on the Operator(s) field development plans and proposals for associated gas disposition and the consequent implications for gas negotiations;
• Provision of on-the-job training on natural gas contracts (including gas processing and storage contracts, gas supply and purchase agreements, gas transportation contracts);
• Review of Operator(s) proposals for commercializing the available associated gas and the negotiation of the required gas sales agreements with the Operator(s) for international and/or domestic market(s);
• Review and give an opinion on the proposed contractual structure for marketing the available associated gas;
• Advice and support to senior officials of the Department of Energy (DE) in the negotiations with Operator(s), including defining negotiation objectives and strategies, stakeholder mapping, closing the deal.

3. SCOPE OF WORK OF CONSULTANCY

The Consultant’s scope of work will include the following activities in order to meet the objectives of this assignment:

• The Consultant will provide an opinion to senior officials of the DE on the different options for selling pipeline gas for local markets, including power and petrochemicals. The Consultant will be engaged in all market research once a gas supply project has been defined;
• The Consultant will make recommendations on the organization of natural gas sales and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the scenarios for each potential project;
• The Consultant will participate in the potential commercialization of natural gas liquids (if present) such as LPG and condensates, for both local and export markets;
• The Consultant will provide market research on regional and international natural gas markets globally (where relevant);
• The Consultant will provide advice and support to senior officials of the DE in the negotiations with Operator(s)
• Perform any other task deemed relevant that may be assigned by the Client.

4. Duration of assignment and DELIVERABLES

These activities are estimated to take place over a period of four years commencing on ….2019. The Contract will initially be issued for one year with a possibility of renewal for the duration of the Project period based on performance.

The core deliverables for this assignment are the provision of advice and assistance to the Client as required in executing the Scope of Work. The deliverables should also include:
• Kick-off meeting;
• Regular status reports;
• Well-documented written advice and recommendations in answers to queries from the Department of Energy, Ministry of the Presidency.

All deliverables shall be submitted in English and electronically to the Department of Energy, Ministry of the Presidency, for review and approval. The World Bank may also review the deliverables for consistency with World Bank Safeguards. It is expected that certain deliverables may require several drafts to incorporate comments by the World Bank, the Client, and relevant stakeholders before they are determined to be final.

5. Implementation arrangements

• The Consultant selected for this assignment will work under the direction of the Director of the Department of Energy (DE), Ministry of the Presidency, or other designated official within the DE and will work closely with other government agencies involved in the oil and gas sector as required.
• The Department of Energy will designate a Focal Point to work with the Consultant. The Focal Point will provide existing relevant documentation; and support the coordination and execution of the Consultant’s tasks and activities, including arranging meetings with the Operator(s) as needed; nevertheless, the Consultant will be responsible for obtaining all the necessary public information required to perform the tasks included in this TOR.
• The consultant’s work will be carried out over 60 days per year of which at least 50 days will be spent in Guyana. The consultant will make an inception visit of at least 3 weeks to formulate work programs, perform initial training, and support urgent decisions facing DE. Subsequent visits will be for at least two weeks in duration.
• It is expected that a major part of the work will be conducted in the Consultant’s office, with regular visits to Department of Energy, Ministry of the Presidency. When not physically present in Guyana, the consultant will remain in close contact with the DE team to supervise and support natural gas negotiations as needed. The Consultant is expected to be available for audio or videoconferences when required.
• The Consultant shall make its own arrangements for carrying out its services, including accommodation, transport, health insurance, document(s) translation/reproduction.

6. Expected Experience and Required QUALIFICATIONS

To be eligible for the assignment the Consultant should exhibit:

1. At least fifteen (15) years’ commercial negotiations experience in the oil and gas industry, including extensive experience with drafting and negotiating high-impact and complex natural gas offtake agreements for the power and industrial sectors;
2. Have a broad understanding of the economic and technical issues related to oil and associated gas projects;
3. Experience and ability to advise on the following topics:
a. Gas Negotiations in the oil and gas sector: experience (from within five years preceding the date of the Consultant’s application) of advising sovereign governments on negotiating gas sales agreements to the power and industrial sectors from upstream projects.
b. Associated Gas Development: experience (from within five years preceding the date of the Consultant’s application) of advising sovereign governments on the relative benefits of associated gas development and the implications for gas negotiations.
4. Master’s degree or higher in Economics, Finance, Petroleum Engineering, Business Administration, Marketing, or related discipline;
5. Excellent drafting ability and presentation and communication skills, both oral and written in English; ability to explain complex technical issues.
6. Excellent organizational and management skills and ability to complete deliverables in an efficient and timely manner.
7. Good understanding of the requirements of the consultancy, ability to work independently with minimum supervision.
8. Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

The nominated person’s previous experience of advising the World Bank or its agencies on oil and gas sector regulatory reform should be disclosed.

7. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The Consultant is required to comment on any potential, actual, or perceived conflicts of interest arising out of other assignments or a conflicting involvement in other assignments. Where the Consultant currently represents any party or potential stakeholders that would create conflict of interest or to the extent any conflict of interest would arise in the future, the Consultant shall detail any measures that may be required to avoid conflicts of interest in connection with the implementation of this assignment.

8. CONFIDENTIALITY

The Consultant and / or its employees agree to keep confidential all information that these receive, directly or indirectly, from the Authorities, its agencies or ministries, and any other stakeholder, as well as all copies or analyses that it makes, or have been made by third parties, on the basis of such information (collectively, the Material). The Consultant will use the Material exclusively for the purpose of preparing deliverables relevant to this assignment. The confidentiality obligations will not apply to information in the public domain. The Consultant will only permit access to the Material to persons within their organizations on a need-to-know basis. The Consultant will explicitly inform such persons of the confidential nature of the Material and, prior to providing them the Material, subject them to the confidential obligations contained in these Terms of Reference.

Leave a Comment