The Experiences of Managing the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund in Trinidad and Tobago and the Sovereign Wealth Fund Guyana

Elias-Roberts, Alicia; Rampaul-Cheddie, Indira

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-56092-8_7

Alicia Elias-Roberts⁶ &
Indira Rampaul-Cheddie⁷

Part of the book series: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance ((CSEG))

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Abstract

This chapter provides an analysis of the legal and regulatory framework of both Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana’s sovereign wealth funds. It discusses the legal regime of ownership of the mineral estate in Trinidad and Tobago. It discusses the procedure to obtain the Exploration and Production (Public Petroleum Rights) Licence and the Exploration and Production (Private Petroleum Rights) Licence, as well as the system of private petroleum leases in Trinidad and Tobago. The establishment and management of the Heritage and Stabilisation fund in Trinidad and Tobago is examined. In the second part of the paper the ownership of the petroleum resources in Guyana is discussed and some of the main features of Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund Act 2019 is evaluated. Also, a critical analysis of the legal framework in Guyana is undertaken and lessons from Trinidad and Tobago which can be useful to Guyana are outlined.

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Notes

1.
See Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (2015); See also Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Report (2016).
2.
The country is 1841 sq. miles and the population of Trinidad and Tobago is about 1.4 million according to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Central Statistical Office’s Population, Social and Vital Statistics Division, https://cso.gov.tt/news/tt-population-reaches-1-4-million/, accessed 31 August 2019.
3.
Heritage and Stabilisation Fund Act, no. 6 of 2007, Law of Trinidad and Tobago.
4.
Ghany (2016).
5.
Krauss (2017).
6.
Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana (2019).
7.
Myers (2018).
8.
Natural Resource Fund Act (no. 12 of 2019), Laws of Guyana.
9.
Petroleum Act (no. 46 of 1969), Cap. 62:01, Laws of Trinidad and Tobago; see also the Petroleum Regulations (Legal notice 5 of 1970), made pursuant to section 29 of the Petroleum Act, Laws of Trinidad and Tobago.
10.
Ibid., Petroleum Act, section 2.
11.
Ibid.
12.
“Hansard Debate on the Petroleum Bill, No. 34 of 1969”, Debates of the Senate, Volume 9, (1969) Hansard Parliamentary Report, Trinidad and Tobago.
13.
Section 6 of the Petroleum Act stipulates as follows:
1. (1)
  No person shall engage in petroleum operations on land or in a submarine area, unless he first obtains a licence as provided for in this Act or the Regulations.
2. (2)
  A person who contravenes this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine of thirty thousand dollars and in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of one thousand, five hundred dollars for every day during which the offence continues.
14.
Lynch (1997).
15.
See, Petroleum Act Chap. 62:01, section 6(3).
16.
For a detailed discussion on the procedures to obtain a private petroleum rights licence see Rampaul (2003).
17.
Regulations section 13 (2). Note that more details about the regulations of the Exploration and Production (Private Petroleum Rights) Licence are included in a Cabinet Minute headed “Guidelines for Use in assessing Applications for Exploration and Production (Private Petroleum Rights) Licences”. The Guidelines state that the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries shall negotiate each licence on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the Petroleum Act and the guidelines laid out in the said minute. The Guidelines specify that the “minimum acreage to be covered by such a licence be no less than 500 acres.” The reason for this is to avoid inefficient and unsafe operations on small holdings.
18.
Yergin (1991).
19.
Ibid., 165–541.
20.
See Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (2019a).
21.
Ibid.
22.
Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (2004).
23.
See Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (2019b).
24.
Heritage and Stabilisation Fund Act, supra n. 3, section 3(1).
25.
International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds (2008).
26.
Heritage and Stabilisation Fund Act, supra n. 3.
27.
Ibid.
28.
HSF Annual Investment Report for the Period ended September 30, 2017, https://www.finance.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/HSF-Annual-Report-2017.pdf, accessed August 29, 2019.
29.
Ibid.
30.
HSF Annual Investment Report for the Period ended September 30, 2017, https://www.finance.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/HSF-Annual-Report-2017.pdf, accessed August 29, 2019.
31.
Ibid.
32.
See Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Finance Press Release (2017).
33.
Ibid.
34.
Petroleum Act supra n. 9.
35.
See Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (2019c).
36.
See ibid., Tax Laws https://www.energy.gov.tt/for-investors/fiscal-regime/tax-laws/, accessed 29 August 2019.
37.
Petroleum Production Levy and Subsidy Act Chap. 62:02, Laws of Trinidad and Tobago.
38.
See Petroleum Profits Tax (Part 1 of the Act), Chap. 75:04, Laws of Trinidad and Tobago; and Supplemental Petroleum Tax (Part 11), Introduced by Act 5 of 1981, Laws of Trinidad and Tobago.
39.
See Ibid., Supplemental Petroleum Tax.
40.
See Tax Laws, supra n. 35.
41.
Unemployment Levy Act, Chap. 75:03, Law of Trinidad and Tobago.
42.
Miscellaneous Taxes Act, Chapter 77:01, Laws of Trinidad and Tobago.
43.
Petroleum (Production) Act, Cap. 65:05, Laws of Guyana, section 2.
44.
Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act (no. 3 of 1986), Cap. 65:10, Laws of Guyana available at https://parliament.gov.gy/documents/acts/8170-act_no._3_of_1986_petroleum_(exploration_and_production)_act_1986.pdf accessed 28 October 2019.
45.
The Petroleum Regulations (Legal notice 5 of 1986), made pursuant to section 70 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, (no. 3 of 1986), Cap. 65:10, Laws of Guyana.
46.
Supra (n 4) Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, section 20: Application for a prospecting licence; section 21: Grant of prospecting licence; section 30: Notification of discovery of oil; section 31: Notification of discovery of oil in commercial quantities; section 34: Application for a petroleum production licence; and section 35: Grant of petroleum production licence.
47.
Ibid., sections 39 and 40.
48.
Ibid., section 51(1).
49.
Natural Resource Fund Act, supra n. 8.
50.
Ibid., section 7(1).
51.
Ibid., section 6(2).
52.
Ibid., section 11.
53.
Ibid., section 13.
54.
See International Monetary Fund (2012); and Williams (2008).
55.
Trinidad and Tobago HSF Annual Report 2014, at p. 4, available at https://www.finance.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/HSF-2014-Annual-Report.pdf, accessed 29 August 2019.
56.
Singh (2015).
57.
See Dr. Hamid Ghany, supra n. 4.
58.
Ibid.
59.
Petroleum and Revenue Management Act (2011), Act 218, Laws of Ghana.
60.
Natural Resource Governance Institute (2018).
61.
Ibid.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
Alicia Elias-Roberts
Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Indira Rampaul-Cheddie

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Alicia Elias-Roberts
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Indira Rampaul-Cheddie
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Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Eduardo G. Pereira
College of Arts, Business, Law and Social Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
Rochelle Spencer
Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Jonathon W. Moses

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Elias-Roberts, A., Rampaul-Cheddie, I. (2021). The Experiences of Managing the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund in Trinidad and Tobago and the Sovereign Wealth Fund Guyana. In: Pereira, E.G., Spencer, R., Moses, J.W. (eds) Sovereign Wealth Funds, Local Content Policies and CSR. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56092-8_7

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56092-8_7
Published: 26 January 2021
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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