Legal library

Guyana oil and gas laws and regulations

A starter register of instrument families. It is not every section, permit or contract. Authority level is labelled so a guideline or a US benchmark is not presented as a Guyana criminal offence.

Instrument	Level	Status	Applies to
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act 13 of 2009 GY · AML	law	Penalties unverified	General offences apply by their terms. Specialised reporting duties apply to scheduled reporting entities, not to every oil and gas company.
Companies Act, Cap. 89:01 GY · CO	law	Penalties unverified	Local and external companies, including beneficial ownership and annual filings.
Customs Act, Cap. 82:01 GY · CUSTOMS	law	In force	Imports, exports and temporary importation.
Cybercrime Act 2018 GY · CYBER	law	Penalties unverified	Conduct defined by the Act, including relevant systems.
Data Protection Act 18 of 2023 GY · DPA	law	Commencement not verified	Controllers and processors, including a platform operator, once the Act applies.
Discrimination, termination and trade union legislation GY · EMPLOY	law	Penalties unverified	Employers.
Environmental Protection (Air Quality) Regulations 9 of 2000 GY · EP-AIR	regulation	In force	Relevant emissions and discharges.
Environmental Protection (Authorisations) Regulations 2000 GY · EP-AUTH	regulation	In force	Applicants and holders of environmental authorisations.
Environmental Protection (Hazardous Wastes Management) Regulations 7 of 2000 GY · EP-WASTE	regulation	In force	Hazardous waste generators and handlers where the regulations apply.
Environmental Protection (Noise Management) Regulations 8 of 2000 GY · EP-NOISE	regulation	In force	Relevant noise-generating premises and activities.
Environmental Protection (Water Quality) Regulations 6 of 2000 GY · EP-WATER	regulation	In force	Effluent and water discharge where the regulations and the authorisation apply.
Environmental Protection Act, Cap. 20:05 GY · EPA	law	In force	Projects that need authorisation, and pollution duties more broadly.
Excise Tax Act GY · EXCISE	law	Penalties unverified	Persons dealing in excisable goods where the Act applies.
Fire prevention, planning, lands and transport permissions GY · PREMISES	law	Penalties unverified	Premises, shore bases, construction, road transport or aircraft, depending on the activity.
Guyana Energy Agency Act and Petroleum Products Regulations 2024 GY · GEA	law	Penalties unverified	Downstream import, export, storage, supply and transport of petroleum products where the framework applies.
Guyana Shipping Act 7 of 1998, Cap. 49:01 GY · SHIP	law	Penalties unverified	Vessels, owners, operators and relevant facilities.
Immigration and work-permission legislation GY · IMM	law	Penalties unverified	Foreign workers and visitors, and the employers who engage them.
Income tax and corporation tax GY · TAX	law	Penalties unverified	Taxable entities, employers and withholding parties.
Labour Act, Cap. 98:01, and wage orders GY · LABOUR	law	Penalties unverified	Employers, subject to the current wage orders and categories.
Local Content Act 18 of 2021 GY · LCA	law	In force	Contractors, qualifying subcontractors and licensees. Supplier qualification is a separate test.
Local Content Secretariat reporting guidelines GY · LCS-GUIDE	guideline	Guidance	Defined contractors, subcontractors and licensees preparing plans and half-yearly reports.
Maritime zones, sea defence, fisheries and protected areas GY · ZONES	law	Penalties unverified	Offshore location, coastal works and affected resources. Not a universal duty for every local supplier.
National Insurance and Social Security Act GY · NIS	law	Penalties unverified	Employers and employees.
Natural Resource Fund Act 19 of 2021 GY · NRF	law	Context only	Public fund authorities. It is context for petroleum revenue, not a universal private-company metric.
Occupational Safety and Health Act 32 of 1997 GY · OSH	law	Source conflict	Employers and workplaces, subject to the scope of the Act.
Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Responsibility Act 6 of 2025 GY · SPILL	law	Commencement not verified	Responsible parties for relevant vessels, facilities and ports, once the Act is in force.
Petroleum Activities Act 17 of 2023 GY · PAA	law	In force	Operators and licensees, and relevant pipeline, storage and carbon dioxide activities.
Petroleum agreements, licences and development plans GY · PSA	agreement	Entity-specific	The licensee and project named in the instrument.
Petroleum subsidiary regulations, directions and notices GY · PAA-SUB	regulation	Commencement not verified	Activity-specific duties under the Petroleum Activities Act.
Ports, river navigation and carriage of goods GY · MAROPS	law	Penalties unverified	Port, river, cargo and marine operations where the Acts apply.
Public Procurement Act and anti-bribery offences GY · PROC	law	Penalties unverified	State procurement and prohibited conduct. Not a blanket rule for private sourcing.
Value Added Tax Act, Cap. 81:05 GY · VAT	law	In force	Registrants and transactions as the Act applies.
BSEE SEMS benchmark US · BSEE-SEMS	benchmark	Benchmark, not Guyana law	A corporate benchmark. The US Outer Continental Shelf framework is not Guyana law.
FCPA books and records and internal accounting controls US · FCPA-BOOKS	us statute	In force	Issuers, with group and controlled-entity questions for counsel. Not every private US supplier is an SEC issuer.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act anti-bribery provisions US · FCPA	us statute	In force	US issuers, domestic concerns and other persons where the statute's jurisdiction reaches. Not an automatic label for every supplier.
OFAC sanctions programmes US · OFAC	us statute	In force	US persons, including US entities and their foreign branches, and others when a programme says so. Guyana is not automatically sanctioned.
OSHA process safety management benchmark US · OSHA-PSM	benchmark	Benchmark, not Guyana law	Only where counsel establishes US statutory geography, or where the company adopts it as a contractual or internal benchmark.
Sarbanes-Oxley sections 302 and 404 US · SOX	us statute	In force	Relevant SEC reporting issuers. Section 404(b) auditor attestation is not universal.
SEC Rule 13q-1 and Form SD US · 13Q	us statute	In force	Resource extraction issuers that file 10-K, 20-F or 40-F reports, including controlled entities, subject to exemptions.
US EPA RMP and SPCC benchmark US · US-EPA	benchmark	Benchmark, not Guyana law	US facility frameworks, or a benchmark the company adopts. Distinct from EPA Guyana permit duties.