–Guyanese flock open day at Energy Expo

WANTING to learn more about Guyana’s oil and gas industry and its stakeholders, scores of young Guyanese flocked the Marriott Hotel for an open-day event on Friday as the curtains came down on the 2022 International Energy Conference and Expo.

“We are basically here to educate ourselves,” Queen’s College student Marissa Moses told the Guyana Chronicle.

The 18-year-old Upper Six Former was at the ‘Expo’ with a group of schoolmates, and they eagerly moved from booth to booth, taking in all that they could learn.

“As young people, we are the future, so it’s important that we are educated. I feel like it’s a really good opportunity that the ‘Expo’ was opened to the public. No matter what background you are from, you are able to take away something from the ‘Expo’,” she said as she clutched a number of pamphlets and magazines that she received from the various booths she visited.

Over 150 businesses took part in the exhibition portion of the international event which kicked off on February 15 with an opening ceremony. Persons were required to pay to attend the exhibition. However, on Friday, it was opened to the general public at no cost.

“I’m really happy and glad that they opened it to the public, because a lot of people who would have wanted to come wouldn’t have been able to come because it was paid. Now we’re seeing a lot of persons here, and I think that’s good. It’s encouraging the Guyanese people and other tourists in Guyana to come and explore and experience,” said 26-year-old Teshina Persaud.

Communications Director Alex Graham told this publication that the decision to open up the event to the public was a strategic one, which was geared at extending exposure for the participating businesses, while allowing for a wider audience that included the ordinary Guyanese.

“It was a business decision; we have to defend the space of the businesses who invested in the ‘Expo’, and I am very keen about providing opportunities to young people, especially students. So, making this decision is the one that was made early, and one that was very easy to make,” Graham said.

Stephan Paul, a 26-year-old engineer, was at the ‘Expo’, looking to see what information he could garner on the opportunities that are available in the oil-and-gas sector for young people like himself.

“It’s a great experience for the Guyanese population, and I hope anyone who has the time got to come out to the ‘Expo’, especially if they don’t know their career field as yet, and are searching. This ‘Expo’ might encourage them to choose one in oil and gas,” he said.

Meanwhile, 34-year-old Harrydas Cyril, a welder/fabricator, was among 10 employees from Compass Industrial Services who were encouraged by their employer to visit the ‘Expo’ to check out what was on display, and the networking opportunities.

PLEASED
Over 2,000 persons are said to have visited the ‘Expo’ over the past four days, while over 800 delegates would have participated in the conference, according to Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, who shared how pleased he was with how the event went.

“The government is very pleased with the manner in which the conference was conducted, and the attendance at the conference. We are very glad that we also had an open day for the locals, because a lot of locals have been asking how about attending the exhibition,” Minister Bharrat told the Guyana Chronicle on Friday.

Noting that the event was a resounding success, he said linkages were created between the local and foreign investors, and there were conversations about the energy and other diversified sectors. These, he said, were among the aims and objectives.

“The organising committee must be commended for it, and I wish to thank all the foreign delegations, our local private sector, and all the Guyanese who participated in some way or the other. We wish to express our appreciation to everyone for making it a success,” Minister Bharrat said.

In commenting on the success of the event, Graham noted that all the targets were met. He told this publication that some of the key goals of the event were: To bring policymakers, practitioners, professionals and professors into a single conversation and have discussions about energy; create an environment to bring major players in the oil-and-gas industry to Georgetown to open up the opportunities for small businesses, and to give a great experience.

“We achieved all the primary goals that we set for ourselves. We are satisfied that we did that, and that we did that effectively; that’s the biggest thing for us,” Graham said.
Going forward, organisers are looking to leverage the lessons learnt at this conference to put on an even bigger event in the coming years.

“Can we do it better? Of course we can. Did we learn things here? Of course we did. Next year, you are going to see us implementing and improving, based on the experiences that we had here,” Graham said.