Guyana’s sixty-member delegation at the recently concluded Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Houston, United States, has led to increased interest in business opportunities with a number MOUs signed with private sector companies, Guyana Office for Investment (G-Invest) Head, Peter Ramsaroop says.
In addition to lauding the effort as a sound investment and successful networking initiative that saw tangible deliverables, Ramsaroop said that Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo who led the nine-member Government of Guyana delegation, also met with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to discuss mutual opportunities as Guyana continues to pursue ways of maximizing benefits of its oil-producing status.
Taxpayers will foot the cost of the air tickets and accommodation for the nine-member government delegation as the Private Sector paid for exhibition spaces and networking functions.
“This trip was indeed a huge success, Guyana’s presences at OTC has sparked non-stop interest in the business opportunities that abound in Guyana. Guyana was the main spotlight among hundreds of exhibitors at the Offshore Technology Conference as we are recognized worldwide as the new oil-producing nation,” Ramsaroop said in response to questions from Stabroek News.
“There has been heightened interest in all sectors of Guyana such as Oil and Gas, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Tourism, ICT, Dairy Plant and Agro- Processing…,” he added.
G-Invest was the lead agency at the conference, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources which directed all questions about to the conference to the agency.
The G-Invest Head said that his agency hosted a successful networking event which saw over 400 global business leaders in attendance. Ramsaroop chaired and spoke at the event along with members of the government delegation, US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah Ann-Lynch and Liam Mallon, President of the ExxonMobil Upstream & Gas Company.
“(The) Vice President addressed the attendees at OTC on the topic: Emerging Oil Industry in the context of Net Zero Emissions. Minister of Natural Resources Mr. Vickram Bharrat and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Inter-national Cooperation (Hugh Todd) spoke on the Around the World Panel,” he also noted.
Then, Jagdeo had told attendees that the government supports the swift development of the local oil and gas sector as a means of earning as much as possible while global realities still allow for the use of fossil fuels.
It was one of the starkest admissions yet by the PPP/C administration that in tandem with Exxon-Mobil and its partners, its intention was to extract as much of the nine billion barrels of oil equivalent and counting before the tide turns against fossil fuels.
He also noted that while Guyana welcomes investment, local content is paramount and those partnering with this country have to ensure ample benefits for locals.
Another keynote speech by Jagdeo was delivered at the Baker Institute at Rice University on the topic: Climate Change Aspirations and the Viability of Small Developing Countries.
Developing countries, Jagdeo told the forum, are not getting the same attention that the developed world gets when it comes to their efforts and they are often left to face hardships of climate change on their own.
“In the developing world that in spite of all the progress we are making towards a zero-emissions future, the issues that affect them, and the help that was promised to them is not adequate. Whatever little financing has come our way, when these pools of resources are made available, the process of intermediation of these funds is a nightmare. The fact is that the threat to them is becoming even more existential,” he said.
“The developing world has some major concerns; a lot of these countries have very narrow economic structures. Their economies are not diversified; these countries are extremely vulnerable to climate change. A single event; a hurricane, can have a systemic impact. It can wipe out 50 years of accumulated wealth….These countries are heavily burdened by debt, and they also are fiscally stressed. They don’t have fiscal space to fund adaptation, and the adaptation funding, globally, is estimated now, at this point in time, at US$150 billion. The world pledge since Copenhagen (2009) has been US$100 billion per annum, and US$75 billion has been delivered. But of that US$75 billion, US$50 billion is in loans,” he added.
He hopes that as the global discussion on climate continues that funding for developing countries’ implementation of climate change initiatives and transition to cleaner energy materialises.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Todd had also spoken at the OTC and has assured that environmental protection will be a key part of Guyana’s policy framework.
Todd noted that Guyana is a small developing state with a burgeoning oil and gas sector, and since the discovery of petroleum in 2015, the country has already faced a number of challenges in the industry.
He said that while the Government intends to fast-track the development and growth of the oil and gas industry, this will not be done without taking into consideration environmental protection and sustainability.
The Government delegation also met with US Congressman Al Green and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee from Texas.
As evaluation of the benefits of the OTC keeps unfolding, government plans to keep updating the public, Ramsaroop said.
