To strengthen its oversight of the oil and gas industry, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has embarked on a series of training sessions, all of which were captured by Auditor General Deodat Sharma in his 2023 report.
The official recalled that in July 2020, the authority approved the establishment of the Petroleum Revenue Department (PRD).

Sharma noted that the department’s mandate includes petroleum tax audits, verification of VAT refunds, objections and appeals, accounts management and debt management.

It was further noted that the strategy used to effectively commission and employ PRD involved training officers from the various audit functions within the authority to create a repository of the required skill sets.
In addition, Sharma noted that 2023 saw more training sessions to increase their capacity. The official said these include Tropical Offshore Basic Survival Training and Emergency Induction Training (T-BOSIET) and Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System (CAEBS) training, both of which are essential for personnel working in large.

T-BOSIET is an industry standard course designed to teach emergency response skills including water survival, firefighting and first aid adapted to offshore conditions. As for CAEBS training, it focuses on the use of emergency breathing systems, which are vital for situations where a quick escape is needed, such as in the event of a helicopter diving over water.

The training also included sessions with ODITC Incorporated, an organization that provides specialist training for oil and gas professionals in areas such as safety, emergency response and technical skills required for offshore work. In addition, GRA has partnered with Bayphase and S&P Global for industry-specific training.

In particular, Bayphase is a consulting firm with experience in oil and gas field development and cost analysis. They help governments and companies understand project economics, cost recovery, and field operations—basic elements that support oversight in revenue and tax management.

S&P Global, on the other hand, is a leading provider of financial information and analysis. They provide information on commodity prices, industry benchmarking and economic analysis that are essential for GRA staff to assess oil prices, market trends and benchmark operating costs.

Their training included principles of cost recovery (ensuring that companies claim their legitimate costs), benchmarking (comparing costs and performance metrics against industry standards) and offshore operations (overseeing drilling, production and logistics on offshore platforms).

Sharma also wanted to highlight the establishment of Customs and Trade Administration of Petroleum Customs Unit (CPU), which is mandated to monitor and verify customs procedures related to the oil and gas sector. Addresses inbound processing, cargo clearance, quality assurance, export oil evaluation process tracking, and import cargo evaluation by oil companies, contractors, and subcontractors. It also handles exemptions, tariff classification, data analysis, research, inventory monitoring and reporting and trade facilitation.

In 2023, Sharma said CPU staff participated in a program of commercialization and gross trading, as well as validation and capacity building.

In addition, 17 personnel completed the Sea Survival and Emergency Survival Training (T-BOSIET) course at the 3tEnermech Training School located at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara.
Overall, these efforts underscore GRA’s commitment to transparency, accuracy and efficiency in the management of Guyana’s resources.