Canadian aerospace and defence company PAL Aerospace will not be conducting operations in Guyana without government approval, according to Captain Gerry Gouveia, whose company Roraima Airways has partnered with the firm to provide surveillance services to the oil and gas sector in Guyana.
“Nothing they do in Guyana will be without government approval,” Gouveia told this newspaper, while noting that the company has had extensive discussion with government.
Asked what is the scope of the work the company is currently involved in within Guyana, Gouveia explained that they have not yet been contracted and that when the government or oil company contracts them they will decide the scope of work they need done.
“All they are doing is letting these agencies know that their services are available. All work done will be done with government approval,” he reiterated.
The company, which is one of Canada’s largest aerospace and defence firms, is a fully integrated company that provides maritime patrol aircraft and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services.
He noted that Roraima Airways is seeking to learn best practices so it can capitalise on opportunities in the oil and gas industry. “Their experience working with oil and gas for the last 30 years is going to lift us to the next level,” he added.
Stabroek News contacted Roraima Airways to understand the relationship between the company and government after the Department of Public Information (DPI) reported Director of Roraima Air-ways Gerald Gouveia Jnr as saying that the joint venture allows the company to provide monitoring services to the regulators of the oil and gas sector.
“It’s extending the enforcement, the monitoring of our government into the ocean… and it’s also providing security for the rig, for Guyanese fishing vessels, for all the supply ships,” he said.
The DPI also reported that Gouveia Jnr said the partnership was birthed following a visit to New-foundland, Canada last November by a private sector team.
The services he reportedly described as being offered are the constitutional responsibility of government agencies such as the Guyana Defence Force.
