-with new PSAs to be signed from recent bid round, Local Content Secretariat Director says

DIRECTOR of Guyana’s Local Content Secretariat, Michael Munroe, has said that with new entrants coming soon to Guyana’s energy sector, bountiful opportunities lie ahead for local businesses.

Munroe was at the time speaking on the ‘Starting Point’ podcast, during which he stated that the Local Content Act remains pivotal in ensuring that Guyanese meaningfully participate in the oil and gas sector.

With new entrants set to sign Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), he noted that these companies, too, will be required to comply with the provisions of the act, paving the way for expanded local content prospects.

“The story ahead of us is very exciting because we have now new entrants coming into the market, new entrants having to comply with the local content Act. So, there will be bountiful opportunities within our local space for local companies to participate,” he said.

He noted that the Act introduced a structured framework for participation and accountability, requiring operators to develop a five-year Local Content Master Plan outlining procurement activities, employment targets, and local development strategies.

Against this backdrop, he said, “So they too now have to do accommodation, transportation, every single sector that is listed in the first schedule.”

Guyana’s local content framework created a schedule with 40 sectors where capacity existed and requires that companies in the oil and gas industry, in their yearly spend, must seek to achieve those targets identified by procuring those services from Guyanese companies.

Further to this, he indicated that the framework has been critical in allowing local companies to not only participate but to grow through consistent year-on-year procurement across those areas.

He stated that the new petroleum companies entering Guyana’s basin will now have to prepare to implement similar plans once they are granted petroleum exploration licences.

The local content head said, “There is tremendous opportunity for local companies currently participating to expand and grow their businesses, but more so to allow other Guyanese who might have an interest to explore the opportunities and see how they can be a part of Guyana’s petroleum story.”

Munroe emphasised that the Act was designed to ensure that Guyanese benefit directly from the country’s petroleum resources. “In many producing countries, citizens don’t get to meaningfully participate, but Guyana’s story is different,” he said.

With a bid round concluded, four companies are expected to sign their first PSAs with the Government of Guyana this month.