Pledging that local content will continue to be foremost in its future plans even as it builds “momentum,” US oil company ExxonMobil yesterday said that its local workforce has tripled since operations began in 2015 and that figure will increase as its projects ramp up.
“Our ExxonMobil Guyana company is just that – a Guyanese company. We are working to develop the local workforce over the coming years. So far, more than 3,400 people in Guyana have worked on our exploration and project activities directly, including more than 1,700 Guyanese,” the oil major’s Senior Vice President (Upstream Oil and Gas Deep Water), Hunter Farris, told attendees in his keynote address at the second annual Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit & Exhibition (GIPEX).
“Since 2017, we’ve more than tripled our local workforce and we are continuing to build. We also rely on the Guyanese supplier community; more than 600 vendors and suppliers with more than $36 billion Guyana dollars, or 180 million US dollars, in spending, and counting,” he added.
GIPEX opened yesterday and will conclude tomorrow, at the Marriott Hotel. Over the course of the summit, participants will hear from many of the operators currently working in the Guyana offshore basin and from government agencies they will be required to work with.
Farris said that as the company looks to the future, it sees Guyana as a long-term partner and will help the country to build the skills required so that it has leaders of the industry coming from here. He highlighted that locals are being trained in Singapore, Canada, and the United States, among other places.
“Through continued development, Guyana is becoming increasingly connected to the world economy, and the oil and gas sector is a key part of that process. I believe that Guyanese should be confident and proud of their increasing role in the world…,” he said.
“The people of Guyana and ExxonMobil have a long future together, and we are determining what that future looks like every day by what we do and who we are,” he added.
President David Granger, who addressed the summit via video message, and whose presentation was prefaced by highlighting Guyana’s natural beauty, also emphasised the importance of developing this country’s human resource for the transformation of not only the oil and gas sector but for a holistic, sustainable country. He said that Guyana welcomes further investment in the petroleum industry but is keen to ensure that there is local content development, which he believes will encourage more partnerships between local and foreign investors.
“The prospects for economic progress and prosperity are limitless given [Guyana’s] bountiful natural and human resources and the significant petroleum discoveries in the country’s maritime zone,” he said.
Granger, who currently heads a caretaker administration, said that Guyana remains “prudent” in managing the resources of the oil and gas industry and will take the best advice and adopt best international practices to establish and manage a robust institutional, legal and regulatory sector. He said that the packed venue was demonstrative of the confidence of business persons in the country’s oil and gas future, even as he stressed that his government is committed to investments. Granger’s government has been hammered for negotiating a poor 2016 Production Sharing Agreement with ExxonMobil subsidiary, EEPGL.
The president’s focus on foreign investors committing to local content here was echoed by both Director of the Department of Energy (DoE) Dr Mark Bynoe and Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) Owen Verwey.
‘Self-determination’
For his part, Bynoe said that for the first time, Guyana has an opportunity for true self-determination.
“This self-determination is being driven by a clearly defined Green State agenda; a soon-to-be completed revised legislative framework for the sector; a contextually relevant and appropriate local content policy; a new product sharing contract template; completion of 2D and 3D seismic surveys for better decision making with regards to remaining blocks and unallocated areas offshore; completion of a Natural Resource Fund framework, completing the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, and building the capacity at all levels along the value chain, particularly amongst our young people and those in the technical, vocational education and training institutions. A people-centred approach remains our modus operandi for realising our development ambitions. Our peoples remain our most treasured resource,” he stressed.
“It is within this context therefore, that the department remains committed to promoting businesses that are aligned with our National Development Strategy and aspirations, are of a strategic nature, and respect our laws. Our goal is for no-regrets investments. As a department, we seek to encourage increased local content and job opportunities that will allow our people to participate fully and [access] good quality jobs,” he added.
Bynoe told foreign investors that if they were looking for partnerships of convenience then they are in the wrong place as the nation’s peoples and its policymakers would not relent in making local development their focus.
“We seek for partnerships and not just associations of convenience. We seek for development in consonance with our rich biodiversity and supporting pillars of our economy. In short, we are welcoming, but also determined in where we as a country want to go,” he said.
The DoE head said that he wants to make clear that revenue from the country’s petroleum reserves will also bring about transformative development, inclusive of the country transitioning to safer, more affordable, reliable, sustainable and newer forms of energy, which he said cannot be over-emphasised given the intense efforts for global decarbonisation.
“Concurrently, the industry is being challenged to use its resources—in particular its technical expertise and knowledge—to develop creative solutions for providing better access to energy and opportunities for renewable energy transitioning. As such, this summit is both appropriate and timely, for Guyana, as one of the newest entries into the industry, must remain cognisant of developments occurring therein,” he said.
And with industry standards necessitating that the petroleum industry adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) as part of its business model, to address the social challenges of its host communities, Bynoe said that an opportunity is provided here in Guyana for an increased focus in addressing all forms and scale of energy in consonance with the country’s Green State Development Strategy Vision 2040.
“We all need to work together to reduce our carbon footprint, inclusive of utilising such techniques as carbon capture, utilisation and storage, minimising methane emissions during the production process of natural gas, and following extraction methods that are environmentally sustainable, socially palatable and economically viable. But these must also be accompanied by efficiency improvements in the production and output of energy. In this case, technology development remains key as Guyana continues to look for best practices in the industry even as it builds out its own regulatory framework,” he said.
“Technological advancement remains one of the fundamental levers to unleash the potential of innovation to make the use of oil and gas ultra clean and minimise emissions. As many of you can attest, innovation in this industry is a game-changer. Advanced technologies are key to resolving the paradox of providing more energy, while curbing emissions. For example, digital technology is now helping us use energy more efficiently in oil and gas, with super-fast processing, data lakes, real-time feeds and predictive software to maximise production and minimise downtime. Technology is also driving down cost and accelerating the use of renewable energy,” he added.
Elite
Meantime, Verwey said that conferences such as GIPEX provide an opportunity to bring together an elite group of specialists and experts to engage in discussions and knowledge sharing. He said that some of that knowledge can also be shared regarding development pertaining to non-oil and gas areas as the country continues to look at ways of diversifying its economy.
“As Guyana prepares for its full entry into the world of oil and gas, GO-Invest recognises its challenges and is currently in the process of reviewing its structure, role, resource capabilities and strategies, to ensure the agency can adequately support businesses in this new era. While this review will include the oil and gas sector, it will fully include the traditional sectors of Guyana: agriculture, forestry, mining, tourism, light manufacturing, and those emerging business outsourcing and information technology services industries,” he said.
Out of GIPEX, he said, relationships and partnerships will be formed and urged that talks be centred on people development in Guyana.
“This will ultimately lead to the formulation of recommendations and feasible solutions that aim to develop a strategic integrative relationship with all parties in the industry as well as activating dialogue to encourage the investment climate in the activities of all phases of the oil industry. It also creates the opportunity to stimulate the transfer of advanced technology to the markets that it needs to ensure provision of energy in the future, as well as working together to intensify our efforts for the development of capacities and competencies within the sector,” he said.
“GO-Invest encourages the new ventures to consider the local content and local benefit in the business development process. It is a great source of quickly acquiring local knowledge, avoiding the usual and unusual business development challenges, and will ensure the locals benefit from the economic success that is to come. This, in turn, helps to ensure sustainable development of both your business and the Guyana economy, something that we will all be proud of,” he added.
Guyana, Verwey underscored, is open for business and his agency stands ready to support all legitimate business development activities that are within the realm of its mandate and capabilities. “The agency has done this over the years and will continue to do so in the years to come,” he said.
