THE Ministry of Natural Resources has commended Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) and its partners HESS and CNOOC Nexen for their commitment to implementing the local content obligations embedded in its Petroleum Agreement with Guyana.

Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman is particularly pleased with the benefits being derived by the Guyanese workforce and business sector and noted that his ministry is working assiduously to finalise its local content policy for the petroleum sector.

This policy is built on the objectives of maximizing benefits for the Guyanese people and value retention from Guyana’s petroleum resource through Capacity Development, Local Content and Value Addition, the ministry said in a release.

Government and the Ministry of Natural Resources will continue to work with EEPGL and its partners in the development and expansion of local content. “We remain committed to our mutually beneficial partnership with EEPGL and its partner in the exploitation of our petroleum resources for the development of Guyana, its people and future generations,” the ministry said in the release.

The ministry notes that EEPGL has contracted the services of 348 Guyanese registered suppliers, 309 of which are Guyanese owned and 39 foreign-owned and from CARICOM countries. “With 64% of its workforce being Guyanese, EEPGL has provided a total of 3000 training hours to its staff through participation in conferences, workshops and seminars. The enhanced transferable skills acquired will be beneficial for people-to-people learning and will create an immense multiplier effect for the wide-scale development of other sectors in Guyana,” the ministry said.

According to the ministry, it is important to note that capacity-building efforts extensively and uniformly target local workers and suppliers and key stakeholders in the petroleum sector. Skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, inclusive of technical officers, drivers, security personnel, journalists, technical and vocational and tertiary students all benefitted from these programmes. Training focused on Oil Spills Response and Management, Occupation, Health and Safety, Business Practice and Anticorruption, Waste and Landfill Management, Controls Advisory and Food Safety.

The ministry said partnerships are being fostered with local and international partners including the Ministry of Communities and SOL,  Environmental Resources Management (ERM), and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) in the administration of internationally recognised training.

In July 2017, EEPGL operationalised the Centre for Local Business Development to assist local suppliers to build capacity, capability and competitiveness in the delivery of goods and services. 40% of all registrations to the Supplier Registration Database are Guyanese-owned companies.

In 2017, US$39 million was spent with Guyanese, CARICOM and foreign suppliers, with a significant percentage appropriated to Guyanese suppliers.