By Lisa Hamilton

LORD Provost of Aberdeen, Barney Crockett, has reaffirmed the interest of Aberdeen, Scotland in Guyana’s Oil and Gas (O&G) industry for mutual support in business growth and prosperity.

The City of Aberdeen has long been touted as the ‘oil capital of Europe’ and has racked-up years of experience in the O&G industry dating back to the mid-20th century. In March 2019, the mayors of Georgetown and Aberdeen signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to pave the way for a two-year bilateral relationship in the sector.

At the third Aberdeen – Guyana Gateway event held on Wednesday via Zoom, the Lord Provost said that over the last months, he has been tuned into reports coming out of Guyana knowing that it was a “very worrying period”.

Moving forward, he expressed his hope that Guyana will continue to see Aberdeen as a very useful partner as there are numerous areas for collaboration.

“There’s two reasons for my special interest in the region. Firstly, I hope it will produce great results for my city but the second reason is that it’s a fantastic opportunity to see a country that needs development get that in the right way. If Aberdeen can help in that, I’ll be absolutely delighted. We’ve signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Georgetown which is quite a comprehensive document for us. We’re keen to see more activity and I think the new government will be too,” he said, adding: “After a worrying period for Guyana we’re now on the brink of great strides forward and we look forward to that.”

The Aberdeen – Guyana Gateway event was hosted by Granite PR in collaboration with several other companies and was live streamed by OilNow in Guyana.

Also present and delivering remarks was British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn.

He delved into facts about Guyana even as he cautioned the attendees that if a foreign business wants to succeed in Guyana, it must put in significant effort to building business-to-business links and genuine partnerships.

“Ensuring as much money as possible stays in Guyana will be forefront of the mind of this government, I cannot stress that enough. The government will demand to see what the benefits are for Guyana and it’s people from the involvement of any outside business,” he said.

The high commissioner announced that the Energy Industries Council (EIC) in Aberdeen was expected to pay a visit to Guyana in June 2020 but this was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that plans are now in place to facilitate the visit in first quarter 2021.

MONUMENTAL DRIVER

Remarks came, too, from Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), Owen Verwey. He told the attendees that Guyana is looking forward to its oil and gas sector being the monumental driver which will boost all other local sectors.

He stressed that Guyana’s extractive industry should not be known only for its oil and gas potential, but for its existing resources in the areas of forestry and minerals. He also boasted opportunities for investment in agriculture development/agro-processing, tourism, services, energy, light manufacturing, professional services and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

In his remarks, Verway also presented on the types of incentives available in Guyana; how to start a business in Guyana and how to apply for fiscal incentives or industrial and commercial land. He said that there are many avenues for investors to do business in Guyana and GO-Invest is charged with aiding where necessary.

Meanwhile, chair of the programme, Granite PR founder and Managing Director, Brett Jackson, also announced during the programme that Energy Voice has developed a ‘Guyana Playbook’ which is a guide for investors looking at Guyana’s rapidly expanding oil industry.

It includes a block-by-bock Exploration and Production (E&P) breakdown; a snapshot of the current services landscape; an analysis for future oil and gas opportunities; a practical investment and legal guide and expert comment and advice from Guyana veterans.

Head of Energy Voice, Ryan Stevenson stated: “There’s obviously great opportunity in the country, people are very excited about it but they need a guide as to how to go into the country, how to meet the right partners and how to make a success of it.”

It is hoped that the Aberdeen-Georgetown relationship will be more than a diplomatic or government bilateral connection, but a relationship fully endorsed by the private sector of the two cities and countries.