Seychelles builds foundation for transparent revenue management of nascent petroleum sector

The EITI Board decided on 1 October that the Seychelles has made “meaningful progress” overall in implementing the EITI Standard, following the conclusion of the Validation process – the EITI’s quality assurance process.

The Board recognizes the commitment by the Government of Seychelles and the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) to good governance in its nascent oil sector and commends the government on the progress made in improving transparency and accountability in the extractive industries. The implementation of the EITI in the Seychelles is also contributing to increased collaboration between government agencies and is providing useful insight into developments in the petroleum sector.

“The Government of the Seychelles is clearly committed to good governance in its extractive and fisheries industries, and we encourage their efforts to introduce new transparency legislation,” said Fredrik Reinfeldt, Chair of the EITI. “The process has begun to build a platform for transparent revenue management, for if and when the country makes commercial petroleum discoveries.”

All EITI countries have a Validation deadline. When the EITI Board accepts a country as an implementing country, it establishes timelines for publishing the first EITI Report and undertaking a Validation. The Validation process is required to start within two and a half years of becoming an EITI implementing country. The Seychelles was admitted as an EITI candidate in August 2014. The EITI Board approved the Seychelles’ Validation to start on 1 January 2018.

The Seychelles has no petroleum production, but one company is currently undertaking exploration activities and others are collecting seismic data. The country, which comprises 115 islands spread over 1.4 million square km in the Indian Ocean, also manages a joint petroleum zone with Mauritius, where exploration activities were recently initiated.

Original source: EITI
Published on 5 October 2018