By Lisa Hamilton

Over 100 companies in different stages of their businesses exhibited at the second annual Guyana Petroleum Business Summit and Exhibition (GIPEX) being held in Georgetown from November 20- 22 at the Marriott Hotel.

Some of these companies were on display at the three-day expo for the first time and gave a positive review, while those experienced in event stated that this GIPEX 2019 has grown to be better than the last. According to the Managing Director of Valiant Business Media –the UK-based company which organized the event — Shariq Abdul Hai, locals at the exhibition are looking to make the right connections while large companies are seeking to expand their influence.

Speaking with Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Guyana Oil Company Limited, (GuyOil), Lanassa John-Forbes, who told the newspaper that it was the first time the company has exhibited at GIPEX. “We’re the largest petroleum distributor in Guyana so we knew that we needed to have presence here,” she said.

“We have been preparing for this [the coming of oil]. We adhere to all Health and Safety Standards from the Guyana Energy Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Also present for the first time was, Arrow Oilfield Services Incorporated (AOSI), the authorized distributor for Simple Green and a company which started up in Guyana just about two years now.

While its products are used internationally by oil rigs to clean grease and grime, the company was exhibiting with the aim of attracting the average Guyanese. Director of Arrow Oilfield, Kabir Mahadeo explained that the apart from use in the petroleum sector, the products can be used to do household cleaning without the harmful chemical fumes often associated with the mixture of cleaning agents.

“Our team is really keeping it green. We just came out of the conference where they spoke about the natural environment and most of the products that we do is environmentally-friendly,” Mahadeo said as he gave further details about the items on display, some of which are used to clean up oil spills.

The Guyana Chronicle found that several delegates were even on foot interacting with other local delegates to see what business networking connections could be formed. Logistics Officer at DH Energy in Ghana, Baffour Kuffour told the newspaper that he was visiting Guyana for the expo with a sister company and that they are interested in joint ventures with local businesses in oil and gas. DH Energy is focused on engineering, inspections and material supply.

“I came here to Guyana to look at how the oil and gas industry is actually growing and also see whether I can talk to other players in the industry and identify opportunities so that we can also come here and set up our subsidiary here,” he disclosed.

Meanwhile, Marine Consultants (Trinidad) Limited was displaying its products and services at the expo geared towards the supply equipment and maintenance services for vessels and offshore platforms; asset management and safety procedures. “All these life rafts, fire suppression systems and lifeboats all need to be serviced annually so we’ll bring them ashore put them in our temperature and humidity control service station, have them serviced and return them to the vessel,” said CEO of the company, John Lang.

There was a large life raft on display which he said can be used in oil and gas industry in the case of an abandon ship. Lang noted that he will be moving to Guyana as the company is working to strengthen local relations for the setting up of a base along the East Coast of Demerara with hopes to also provide its services to Suriname and French Guyana.

Also present and working in collaboration was the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) who were on a mission to ensure that Guyanese benefit from local content. “The most critical input of the oil and gas sector is skills at all levels because once you have skills at all levels you’re going to have maximum local content and it will lead to maximum returns on investment for Guyanese,” TVET Council Chairman and Board Chairman, Clinton Williams told the newspaper.

Through the booth, the two institutions promoted its skilled students as viable to the oil and gas sector and other companies for collaboration. “We have to be here to ensure that people are aware – the oil majors [such as] Exxon, the HESS, the CNOOCO — that there exist these organisations but more importantly, we want to partner with other companies that are involved in training in other countries so that we can learn from their experiences and ensure that we can do what we’re doing much better.”

Present too and representing Rubis was Retail Accounts Executive, Rhonda Johnson so rated GIPEX 2019 as better than the last. “Since conferences relating to oil and gas have come to Guyana, we have participated. For the past three years this would be our fourth, so we are no strangers to conferences relating to oil and Gas. I’m in a position where I can compare and I can say that, for this year, it has gotten stronger than last year in terms of what I see. I looked this morning at the opening and the venue was filled to capacity. It looks as though you could not accommodate any other persons while there were persons also outside. So, when I look and I see what’s happening I can see growth,” she said.

Some Ministers perusing the various booths also gave a positive review of their experience thus far at GIPEX.
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan said: “This is fantastic and it shows us where we’re going to get with all these big companies, it is just an amazing thing…we must not let this opportunity miss us.”

Meanwhile, “I’m quite pleased to see the turn out,” Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson said. “It augments well for what the Government’s policy is in oil and gas. I am so glad to see the confidence that other persons have placed in us as we emerge now in oil and gas. I’ll encourage Guyanese to take the opportunity to come here to look at the exhibitions and see what they can do going forward.”

The event is organised by Valiant Business Media in collaboration with the Department of Energy (DOE), Ministry of the Presidency and with support from Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest).