Queens College to host Oil and Gas symposium

Under the theme, Navigating the Opportunities and Imperatives in Guyana’s Oil and Gas Economy – Queen’s College of Guyana Alumni Association New York (QCAANY), will assemble experts versed in the field, for an international symposium on Saturday, May 29, 2021.

The free, live in-person event, which will be held at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center (JPAC), 153-10 Jamaica Ave in Queens, from 3 pm — 5 pm, will be hosted under strict social-distancing protocols. Registration is currently open for limited seating on a first-come, first-served basis.

A live stream of the symposium will be available but prior registration is required in order to receive the secure link. Registration details are accessible via the Symposium website ( https://guyanaoilsymposium.com/).

The symposium will also include an interactive discussion with audience members, moderated by Rosalind Kilkenny McLymont, executive editor of The Network Journal, and Mohamed A. Karimullah, vice president of Infinity Services, Inc., a Guyana-based engineering and management consulting company.

Participating experts at the symposium will include:

Dennis A. Pieters, Ph.D. — International Reservoir Engineering Consultant, Professor and Author. Pieters obtained his Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and is also a Queens College alumnus. He currently serves as a director of Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc., in Georgetown, Guyana.

Edwin M. Callender, Esq. — Texas-based attorney and international energy consultant with more than 25 years experience in the areas of Oil & Gas law, energy economics, risk analysis, commercial energy transactions and business strategy. In addition to his legal qualifications and expertise, Callender holds graduate degrees in Chemical Engineering, Business Administration and Finance. He is also an alumnus of the Bishop’s High School in Guyana.

Fareed M. Amin — former deputy minister for Energy and Infrastructure in the Province of Ontario, Canada, and deputy city manager of the City of Toronto. Amin is also a former infrastructure and environmental adviser to the government of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He is a graduate of the University of Guyana, with post-graduate degrees and certifications in Public Administration from the University of Toronto and Queens University in Canada, as well as the Kennedy School of Government in the United States.

According to the QC executive, since officially becoming the world’s newest oil-producing nation just over a year ago, Guyana has moved rapidly to center stage in the international media spotlight. Recent offshore discoveries of more than eight billion barrels of proven, recoverable petroleum reserves have fueled the prospect of explosive economic growth and previously unthinkable per-capita income gains for the country’s 800,000 residents.

“But will Guyana be able to beat the odds by overcoming the dreaded “resource curse” that has bedeviled so many other oil-rich developing nations? How might the country learn from the missteps made by others, and how can the country safeguard the long-term economic, environmental, social and political well being of its people.”

“Guyana’s newly discovered energy resources are being heralded for their potential to transform the country’s future and greatly improve the lives of its people,” said John Campbell, president of QCAANY.

“However, the realization of that potential will require careful and strategic planning, bold ideas and broad public engagement that transcend any partisan political interests or affiliations. Our symposium will provide a forum in which Guyanese nationals and other interested parties of all backgrounds can participate in a forward-looking conversation on these issues and challenges.”

Campbell further noted that the Symposium will seek to promote a “public cross-fertilization of ideas” on Guyana’s oil and gas economy in areas ranging from private sector and business opportunities, workforce development and training, to local content, diasporic engagement, and environmental health and safety.

Campbell added that the organizers are looking forward to a “robust, respectful and constructive dialogue” on these and other issues at the event.

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