US helps Seychelles plan as future oil producer -

US helps Seychelles plan as future oil producer -

A team from the US Department of State are helping Seychelles plan how to use its expected oil and gas revenues wisely, its leader Paul Hueper has said.

The team during their talk with Vice-President Faure


Mr Hueper gave the details in an interview on Thursday after his group called on Vice-President Danny Faure at State House.

The team are from the Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative (EGCI) of the US, which is giving a wide range of technical and human resource training to help “governments of select countries that are on the verge of becoming the world’s next generation of oil and gas producers”.

“These are countries with world-class hydrocarbon resource potential and expect to receive sizable, near-term financial windfalls from the development of their oil and gas resources,” the department says on its website.

The EGCI’s main aim is to help these countries set up the capacity to manage their oil and gas sector revenues wisely and in a way that maximises the value of the resource development for the government.

It also supports a broad range of US foreign policy objectives, including ensuring the security of global oil and gas supplies, supporting clean energy goals by maximising the efficiency of oil and gas resource development, furthering political and economic stability in developing countries, promoting democracy and human rights, and combating corruption.

Mr Hueper said the State Department is holding talks with what it believes are the world’s next producers on how to use the revenue when they discover the oil.

He said the hydrocarbon indicators found in Seychelles, and the current exploration efforts, make it very likely we will strike oil soon.

His team are seeking to train government officials on how best to negotiate with companies so as to get the most from the gas and oil.

They also talked to Mr Faure about the potential of renewable energy, saying there should be a balance with the use of alternative sources, even if oil is found.

The group will return in January, with the US geological survey team members to run courses for Seychellois who would be involved in oil revenue-related negotiations.

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