– as Mexico’s ‘Oceamar’ turns attention to Guyana’s O&G sector

OCEAMAR, a leading Mexican offshore service provider has turned its attention to one of the world’s newest petroleum states, Guyana, with the aim of making a multimillion-dollar investment.

Guyana, with a Gross Domestic Product (GPD) of around US$4 billion, is pegged to grow tremendously in the coming years because of its new-found oil wealth. And the anticipated growth has already attracted several international companies, many of whom are interested in investing in the nascent oil-and-gas sector.
Oceamar is among the latest investors which have set their sights on Guyana. The company, according to its website, focuses on meeting the needs related to the maritime and oil industries, offering a comprehensive and specialised service. It operates in all the ports of the Gulf of Mexico.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Invest (Go-Invest), Dr. Peter Ramsaroop, has said that Oceamar, while being a large oil-support company, focuses on many components such as logistics, food management and so forth. The company offers air, land and maritime support.
Dr. Ramsaroop and his team met with a delegation from Oceamar and Mexico’s Ambassador to Guyana, Jose Omar Hurtado Contreras, on Monday.
“The discussions are still in the preliminary stages, but we outlined the local investment opportunities to the company,” said the CEO during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday.

When asked how much money the company is looking to invest in Guyana, Dr. Ramsaroop said discussions have not reached that stage as yet, but, considering the types of service Oceamar offers, he foresees the investment running into hundreds of millions of GYD.
In addition to Oceamar, the CEO said a number of other oil-support companies are looking to establish local operations.
With a projected GDP growth of 26.2 per cent for 2020, Guyana, being one of the only countries in this hemisphere expected to see positive growth, is seen as the ideal investment destination.

And it was already reported that the Government of Guyana is actively encouraging Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and offering tax concessions for priority projects through Go-Invest.

MOVING HEADQUARTERS
“Already, a lot of current foreign direct investors are expanding their services to Guyana… they are even moving their headquarters to this country… these are being moved from Trinidad and Tobago, and even Brazil, to Guyana,” said Dr. Ramsaroop, during a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
Like Oceamar, most of these companies are focused on offering oilfield support services to the offshore operations in the oil-and-gas sector.
Some of those companies offer services such as oil-well maintenance, completion, production, supply, and logistical support services in both on-shore and off-shore activities.

These services, for now, will be offered directly to ExxonMobil, the company operating in the Stabroek, Canje and Kaieteur Blocks, offshore Guyana.
Some 18 discoveries have so far been made in the Stabroek Block since 2015, but just three projects have so far been sanctioned – Lizas One, Two and Payara. The operator, ExxonMobil, expects this to ramp up to around five by 2026, generating more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day. Since 2015, ExxonMobil has increased its estimated recoverable resource base in Guyana to more than nine billion oil-equivalent barrels.
Among some of the companies already servicing ExxonMobil’s operations are Schlumberger and Halliburton, both Fortune 500 companies.

SIGNALLED INTEREST
A number of other large U.S. companies have signalled an interest to invest in Guyana. And in some cases, Go-Invest, according to Dr. Ramsaroop, is processing investment agreements and finalising discussions on particular areas of investment.
“2021 looks great for FDIs and local investments…local providers are doing major joint ventures in order to invest in tourism, agriculture and even oil,” said the CEO.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali had said that progress is expected on all fronts in 2021, which has since been designated as the Year of Investments and Development.
“What you will see next year is a flurry of development; there will be active work on the new Demerara Harbour Bridge, the new four-lane road, new hotels, and the creation of 50,000 homes,” said the President.

He said work will commence on the construction and rehabilitation of roads in hundreds of communities; new infrastructure will be created, and there will be major developments in every sector.

Additionally, private-sector investments are expected to increase, stretching from the construction of new shore bases to service the oil-and-gas sector, to new office complexes and other private development projects.
The President anticipates that with increased construction, there will be an increased demand for quarry and construction materials and labour.