Oil spill readiness: GAICO unveils oil spill response vessel
An employee of GAICO Construction and contracting Services demonstrates the use of
equipment on board the company’s supply /spill response vessel on Friday afternoon.
President David Granger (centre) engages the company’s principal, Komal Singh, as Private
Sector Commission (PSC) chairman Eddie Boyer (left) and Minister of Public Health , Dr
George Norton, look on [Adrian Narine photo]
An employee of GAICO Construction and contracting Services demonstrates the use of equipment on board the company’s supply /spill response vessel on Friday afternoon. President David Granger (centre) engages the company’s principal, Komal Singh, as Private Sector Commission (PSC) chairman Eddie Boyer (left) and Minister of Public Health , Dr George Norton, look on [Adrian Narine photo]

LOCAL firm GAICO Construction and Contracting Services, celebrating on Friday its 25th year in business, has capitalised on an opportunity to provide support services relevant to Guyana’s emerging oil and gas sector by unveiling its oil spill response services, a venture which is said to be the first of its kind to be piloted here by a local firm.The company plans to invest in the creation of a “soil remediation facility,” a project which pivots around the treatment of contaminated fuel retrieved from oil spills.

The Company’s supply boat /spill response vessel, Ms Maleka
The Company’s supply boat /spill response vessel, Ms Maleka

Speaking at the commissioning of the service, President David Granger commended GAICO for its “forward thinking” initiative, and expressed his conviction that the country must prepare itself for similar emergent economic sectors.

He told the gathering, which included several ministers of government, environmentalists and oil and gas managers, that the company has cast its sights on Guyana’s emerging petroleum sector and has positioned itself to benefit from that sector’s local content.

The President said Guyana must prepare itself for new and emerging sectors, and foresight and entrepreneurship would allow businesses to benefit from local content.

He said Government is confident that the production of petroleum would create new opportunities, although economic challenges would not come to an end. He said the country cannot afford to fold its arms and simply wait for the anticipated oil bonanza.

“We must continue to build a balanced and diversified Guyana,” he said.

President Granger said the authorities will continue to pursue green growth notwithstanding the emerging petroleum sector. “Our green agenda will open notable avenues for entrepreneurship,” he said.

He listed enterprises, construction and environmental services, solid waste management and protected areas’ systems as being among areas which would be pursued.

The President said Guyana’s entrepreneurship culture has blossomed, but it is not yet blooming fully. “It needs to be encouraged to accentuate balanced development all over our ten regions,” he said.

He informed that entrepreneurship rests on several pillars, including information, infrastructure, communication, innovation and investment, all of which are pivotal to development.

In this regard, he said, while those pillars are being planted and fostered, Government has embarked on the establishment of additional towns across the country, as they are important to the respective areas within which they are located.

President David Granger engages GAICO’s Komal Singh on board the company’s supply boat /spill response vessel, Ms Maleka
President David Granger engages GAICO’s Komal Singh on board the company’s supply boat /spill response vessel, Ms Maleka

GAICO principal Komal Singh told those gathered that the company commenced operating in May 1991 in Region Three, where it was a sole trader until 2005, when its status was upgraded to that of a limited liability company.

GAICO has, since 2005, worked diligently to upgrade to its current large human and capital capacity, and is ready to take up the opportunities the petroleum sector presents.

He noted that the company invested in its marine fleet in the petroleum sector after noticing a vacuum. Singh said GAICO has observed and carried out research on oil spills which occurred in other parts of the world, and the entity believes it is ready to up its mandate to another level.

He explained a scenario of an oil spill within local waters and the effects it can leave on the waterways.

“GAICO decided here at this junction that while oil and gas (production) are down the line, we still have a lot of opportunities locally to put systems in place to mitigate some of those disasters that can happen”, he disclosed, noting that the firm would need the help of the regulatory agency to put systems in place to avoid such outcomes.

24 HOURS TO RESPOND
Meanwhile, in relation to the equipment on the ground, Singh said the entity invested in a supply boat which can take fuel or cargo to various vessels. It can double as a platform in the event of an oil spill, and in one month’s time, all other essential equipment will be installed on the vessel. “Should there be a spill, we would be able to respond within 24 hours,” he said.

He added that storage tanks are also in the company’s operations, and oil can be skimmed and stored by the company in the event of a spill.

GAICO is in the process of documenting its preparedness for the establishment of an oil spill facility called a “Soil Remediation Facility”. Singh said the company is ready to work with any entity presently involved in the sector.

Professor Suresh Narine, who is affiliated with GAICO, noted that last year’s oil discovery by Exxon Mobil has changed the trajectory of the oil-and-gas history of Guyana. He said the discovery takes a parallel place next to Guyana’s attainment of independence from the British in 1966.

Professor Narine said he does not believe the enormity of the discovery has filtered down in the minds of many. He reminded those seated that oil and gas should not suggest the other fertile sectors of the economy should be abandoned.

He said President Granger’s piloting of a green economy is impressive, and he noted the importance of the other sectors of the country’s economy.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Private Sector commission (PSC), Eddie Boyer, said the PSC’s support for renewable energy and a green economy is well documented. He said that GAICO’s investment signals the start of a new era in the extractive industries, one that is new to Guyana.

Boyer said it is refreshing to see companies such as GAIOCO “going full steam ahead”, and he called for other companies to follow suit, noting the new opportunities which are available in the field.

Boyer said that the PSC would be forming an oil-and-gas grouping within its energy subsector. The body will address matters relating to growth and development in the oil and gas sector.

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