By Kemol King
In a significant step toward environmental risk management in the petroleum sector, Guyana’s Parliament passed the Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Responsibility Bill 2025 in May.
The President assented to the Bill on May 28, thereby establishing a legal framework for preventing oil pollution, coordinating a spill response, and enforcing accountability measures. The Act provides for preventative, restorative, and compensatory measures covering oil spill incidents in Guyana’s national territory. It mandates coordination among state agencies, operators, and international partners while ensuring that those responsible for spills bear the full weight of financial, legal, and environmental obligations.
The main components of the legislation are: 1. Designation of a Competent National Authority The Act designates the Civil Defense Commission (CDC) as the Competent National Authority responsible for supervising oil spill response coordination and impact mitigation. The CDC will receive and disseminate oil spill reports to all stakeholders and oversee the national response architecture. Click here to read more.
