– more businesses gaining international compliance for contracts, other work

By Navendra Seoraj
MORE than 700 Guyanese-owned businesses have been able to secure work in Guyana’s nascent oil and gas sector.
In just five years, local investors have been able to position themselves to absorb opportunities emanating from a sector which, in some cases, was completely alien to them. Prior to ExxonMobil’s discovery of oil, offshore Guyana, indigenous businesses focused primarily on the traditional sectors such as agriculture, gold/diamond mining, forestry, tourism and commercial, among others.

Some 18 discoveries have so far been made in the Stabroek Block since 2015, but just three projects have so far been sanctioned – Liza 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. ExxonMobil has since increased its estimated recoverable resource base in Guyana to more than nine billion oil-equivalent barrels.

While this development has attracted many foreign ‘eyes,’ Director of the Centre for Local Business Development, Patrick Henry, has said that over 700 Guyanese-owned businesses have received some type of contract, purchase order or other work within the oil and gas sector.

“Guyanese companies are working offshore now… the up-skilling of Guyanese businesses and their ability to work offshore have been phenomenal. Businesses went from no offshore capacity to working offshore on the Liza One development. So, there are Guyanese-owned businesses doing work on the FPSO [Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel],” said Henry during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, on Thursday.

He underscored the ‘massive’ transformation of the local economy and its sectors, noting that businesses, despite this transformation, have been able to stay relevant and take advantage of the opportunities produced by the oil and gas sector.

In further talking about the advancement of local businesses, Henry said: “They are winning work, they are winning work in more and more technical areas… they are offshore… the businesses have adjusted, pivoted and taken advantage of all the opportunities.”
Guyanese businesses have been contributing to the oil and gas supply chain, which includes services such as transportation and even professional services ranging from lawyers, accountants, caterers and even auditors.

Much of this was made possible through the Centre for Local Business Development which was established in 2017 by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd, an affiliate of ExxonMobil, in collaboration with Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) Global, LLC.

HELP IN COMPETITIVENESS
The aim of the centre is to help Guyanese businesses become more competitive and be able to join the oil and gas sector.
The centre achieves this in three main ways, with the first being a supplier registration portal, which has over 3,700 companies; about 2,300 of those companies are Guyanese-owned, while the others are foreign-controlled.

Guyanese businesses, registered on the portal, are able to receive information about tenders for the oil and gas sector and updates on the work of the centre.
Henry said the centre also runs a series of oil and gas seminars, which focus on oil and gas; procurement for local suppliers; and health, safety and security in the environment (HSSE).
“We have had about 3,000 attendees in those seminars, which are usually about two hours long. Right now, they are done virtually, so you can be in the comfort of your home and log into the centre. We are running a series, so people can sign up,” said the director.
Those seminars are fashioned in a way to teach businesses how to make smart investment decisions and understand what is required, in order to get into the oil and gas sector.

In addition to the seminars, the centre also offers a series of business courses which run for about four months. Those programmes target specific areas such as businesses and financial management, human resource management and supply chain management. Over 270 businesses have benefitted so far from those specialised programmes.
“We also work with businesses to go through ISO 9001 compliance, which is a quality management programme,” said Henry.
President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Guyana (AMCHAM), Zulfikar Ally, was reported as saying that the need for international best practices, compliances and certification cannot be overstated, but they provide a disadvantage to businesses participating in contracts, especially in the oil and gas sectors.
And, it also creates a great deal of frustration for investors who are bound by policies and international best practices to ensure that they only hire firms that are in compliance with those requirements.

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
When asked if the centre’s programmes are tailored to address this situation, Henry said: “The HSE programme and the ISO 9001 are international standards, and the purpose is to help give businesses the opportunity to enter the supply chain and get contracts… specifically to address that issue.”
It is for this reason that the director encouraged businesses to use the resources provided by the centre, to improve their capacity and be ready to participate in the oil and gas sector.
The advancement of local businesses is especially important at this time because Guyana and the U.S. will soon commence the first working group to implement the initiatives outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed recently by President Irfaan Ali and the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
The MoU aims to provide a platform for U.S. private sector investment to build Guyana’s physical infrastructure, energy sector, and digital economy transparently. Guyana is the second Caribbean country to sign the MoU, joining Jamaica.
The framework agreement to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the Growth in the Americas Initiative is expected to help them to identify specific ways to advance their joint interest.

This agreement, President Ali had said, will boost the business environment for U.S. private sector investment in Guyana, particularly in the fields of energy, both non-renewables and renewables, along with infrastructure.

Further, he said the agreement will also pave the way for the U.S. private sector to expand its investment portfolio and partner with Guyana’s private sector.
With renewed and increased interest in the local economy, Guyana has an opportunity to assess its systems and create processes which are business-friendly and encouraging for not just international investors, but locals as well.

The new Government has already committed to building a ‘modern’ Guyana with world-class infrastructure that improves connectivity and unlocks the vast potential of the economy.