WITH Guyana’s emerging oil and gas sector continuing to grow, local businessman Lloyd Baharally will soon establish a $200 million fuel-bunkering operation in Region One (Barima-Waini) and Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Bunkering is defined as the supply of fuel for use by ships, including the logistics of loading and distributing the fuel among available shipboard tanks.

The plan is to have both sites fitted with the necessary infrastructure before the commencement of operations, to facilitate docking, transferring, and access by the relevant authorities.

“The bunkering operation will consist of the following: (i) Diesel fuel imported by Aruca Investment will be transported using the Triton Freedom. This diesel fuel will then be transferred into the Paloma 2 which will then deliver same to customers. (ii) Paloma 2 will deliver diesel fuel to customers who will be collecting same using fuel cargo boats or fuel trucks. (iii) Paloma 2 will deliver diesel fuel to ships for customers who are in the shipping industry,” the company said in a project summary seen by the Chronicle.

The company disclosed that its vessels, the Triton Freedom and the Paloma 2 have storage capacities of 700,000 litres and 140,000 litres respectively.

Aruca Investment is the holder of several petroleum licences issued by the Guyana Energy Agency, including Importing / Wholesale Licence; Retail Licence; Bulk Transportation Carrier Licence; Bulk Transportation Carrier Licence; and Bulk Transportation Carrier Licence.

The $200 million investment has a projected annual turnover of $1 billion.

In its initial stages, Aruca Investment will be creating jobs for 15 persons; 10 full-time workers for the Triton Freedom and five for the Paloma 2.

Prior to 2004, the business operated the Aruca Stationery and Variety Store in the Mabaruma and Santa Rosa locations.

MORE LOCALS INVESTING
This multibillion-dollar investment is another instance of Guyanese investors taking up the opportunity to invest at home. With Guyana positioned to become a hub for major investments, the government is keen on keeping its promise of allowing locals to benefit from the vast opportunities available here.

Elaborating on the point of local content, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest), Dr Peter Ramsaroop, said in a recent interview that about 65 per cent of the private investments made in 2021 that were approved by Go-Invest, were from locals.

The CEO pointed out that the government has been implementing systems to provide incentives to all investors, whether large or small.

According to Dr Ramsaroop, outlined in the government’s plans, are opportunities for persons to become investors and benefit from opportunities across several sectors.

Even as the government continues to encourage local investors to take advantage of the available opportunities, Dr Ramsaroop said that systems have been implemented to train and equip Guyanese with the necessary tools that would allow them to reap the benefits of any investment.

He said too that several private sector organisations are also offering free training sessions to prepare local investors to enter various sectors.