SINCE the historic 2015 discovery by the American oil giant ExxonMobil of a significant deposit of hydrocarbons off the coast of Guyana, ministers of the Guyana Government have held several engagements with the company’s officials in relation to the development of Guyana’s oil and natural gas sector.Extensive high-level meetings between the Government of Guyana, represented by the Ministers of Natural Resources, Public Infrastructure and Business — Raphael Trotman, David Patterson and Dominic Gaskin respectively –- and top officials and executives of ExxonMobil were recently conducted in this regard over a two-day period in Houston, Texas, USA.

The Government’s delegation was reportedly updated about ongoing and planned exploratory activities, and were engaged in interactive sessions that covered important topics — an exploration update; development of the well for production; capacity building, to ensure the involvement and ownership by Guyanese in the various stages of development of the industry; and the energy outlook to 2040, which showed petroleum remaining in high demand.

The release noted that the visiting delegation was also taken on a tour of ExxonMobil’s new campus and ultra-modern headquarters, which included its state-of-the-art laboratories, where actual samples of hydrocarbons from all over the world are analyzed and processed.

“The levels of attention to detail, impressive facilities for workers, and the work ethic were outstanding features that were unmistakable during the visit,” the release stated.

Government and ExxonMobil have hailed the engagement as highly successful, and have pledged to deepen relations to enhance cooperation to ensure the smooth, expeditious and mutually beneficial development of Guyana’s oil and gas industry.

The Ministers were accompanied to Houston, Texas by ExxonMobil’s officials – Mr. Jeff Simons, Country Manager (Guyana), and Ms. Kimberly Brassington, Senior Director – Public & Government Affairs (Guyana). They were joined in Houston, for the duration of the visit, by Dr. Erik Oswald, Vice President (Americas).

Government has also said that the Ministries of Natural Resources and Finance have been working assiduously to enhance capacities to develop policies, identify and apply the appropriate legal mechanisms to manage and regulate the oil and natural gas industry, and ensure that the national patrimony is managed and preserved so that all Guyanese can benefit equally.