PRUDENT management of every aspect of Guyana’s petroleum sector is critical, and, in recognising this, a group of investors have pooled their resources to launch a US$10 million firm, Sustainable Environmental Solutions Guyana Inc. (SES), to manage “oil waste.” The company was formed in 2020 after being awarded a long-term contract by a major petroleum operator in Guyana. This award covers the management of hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, and the treatment of drill cuttings. According to a statement from the company, the composition of SES brings to Guyana, strong local content in keeping with the government’s initiative to have more local involvement in the oil-and-gas business, and achieving the highest international waste-management standards from day one. The company, which was launched officially on Tuesday, comprises Gaico Construction and General Services Incorporated and Corena Group, which operates as Gaico Corena Environmental Services, and the Guyana Shore Base Incorporated (GYSBI).
Gaico Corena Environmental Services Inc. brings international expertise from over 104 countries, while GYSBI ensures there is maximum local content to the construction and operation of its facility.

The SES facility has been designed to manage a wide range of wastes. A unique service of this facility is its capacity to process drill cuttings and to recover large amounts of base oil which can then be recycled into various mud plants around the country. The utilisation of state-of-the-art furnaces minimises harmful emissions into the atmosphere, while a waste-water treatment plant has been designed to manage all fluids from bilge waters to tank-cleaning effluent. “The integration of these processes will make this environmentally friendly facility state-of-the-art, and keep Guyana beautiful and green. SES is fully committed to ensuring maximum local content in its pursuit of minimising carbon footprint and caring for the environment,” the company said in its statement. Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, has said that local businesses and companies should replicate SES’s posture and actively seek opportunities to penetrate and benefit from the oil-and-gas value chain. Speaking at the launch of the company, Dr. Singh said: “I think it’s extremely commendable that Guyanese companies spotted an opportunity to innovate; to enter a space where Guyanese companies had hitherto not entered;

identified that there were technologies and skills that they did not have; seek out a credible international partner with a track record like Corena; engaged them, concluded a joint venture in the manner that you did, tendered, competed presumably with a significant number of other competitors, I would imagine; compete for business with ExxonMobil and win a 10-year contract with ExxonMobil to do this particular function. I think this is something for which you should all be commended and applauded.” Further, he said: “It would have been easy for Guyanese companies to sit down and say we don’t have the technology to offer what ExxonMobil needs in this particular instance. We don’t, or we didn’t, as far as I’m aware, have the technology capable of processing waste in the manner that SES proposes to do until very recently.” According to a report from the Department of Public Information (DPI), the minister explained that the current generation is living in a period that will allow them to witness and participate in the most significant growth in Guyana’s history. He added that Guyana has already seen a steep uptick in the investment climate due to the policies implemented by the new government. Dr. Singh vowed that the government will continue to facilitate significant growth and investment by improving the ease of doing business.