GUYANESE-OWNED Ithaca Energy Partners Inc (IEP) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Excalibar Minerals LLC for the establishment of a US $20 million barium-manufacturing facility in Guyana.

According to a release from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the signing, which took place on Tuesday at the International Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, will see Excalibur Minerals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Newpark Resources, coming to Guyana to set up the massive facility.

Barium is a soft, silvery metal that is mostly used in the oil-and-gas sector to make drilling mud for oil and gas wells. It is also used in paint and in glassmaking.

The multimillion-dollar facility is expected to supply Guyana’s oil-and-gas industry with Barite. Chief Executive Officer of IEP, Linden Edmondson, noted that the joint venture would create employment, transfer barium-manufacturing technology to Guyana, and provide training for several Guyanese.

Ithaca Energy Partners Inc. (IEP) — an indigenous Guyanese Company — is an umbrella supply-chain execution platform for Guyana’s oil-and-gas industry. The company has international experience that provides upstream and midstream support services to the industry.

IEP also offers door-to-door logistics and Exworks with material management and supply-base services.
Excalibar Minerals LLC has sourced and processed high-quality barium sulfate and calcium carbonate ores to deliver the very best products possible since its founding in 1990.