Leaving Guyana in 2019 under the Nalco Champion name following objections from residents to its building of a chemicals warehouse at Industrial Site, Ecolab’s upstream company ChampionX has returned to Guyana aiming to provide undisclosed services for the oil and gas sector.
The company last week held a launch at its McDoom, East Bank of Demerara location where Prime Minister Mark Phillips was the keynote speaker and he underscored that government will ensure economic diversification so as to avoid the Dutch disease here.
It is unclear what services the company will provide but Phillips said that ChampionX Guyana Inc.’s presence “will bolster the country’s capability in chemical management services”.
“The presence of ChampionX in Guyana will contribute positively to our burgeoning oil and gas industry through chemistry solutions, equipment and technologies that provide support for companies operating in oil and gas,” he also posited.
The Prime Minister told attendees that since its first offshore oil discovery in 2015, Guyana has been placed on a trajectory of massive growth, with the advent of a robust oil and gas industry that holds significant potential for the country’s development.
“Today, with more than 22 oil discoveries at the Stabroek Block in the last six years, Guyana, now more than ever, needs to leverage the opportunities that will sustainably and responsibly bolster its transformation in a manner that is beneficial to all Guyanese. Along this line, this administration is committed to ensuring that every step taken towards the development of the local oil and gas industry aligns with this goal as we work to ensure the effective management of our natural resources,” he said.
His government, according to Phillips, understands the importance of being prepared and will not only focus on the oil and gas sector, although it welcomes investments in this area for the number of opportunities that can be created.
“As we make these preparations, we must ever be wary not to repeat the mistakes of so many others who have fallen victim to the Dutch Disease. There-fore, continued investments in our traditional sectors must remain high on our list of priorities as well,” he noted.
“But amidst all these factors, there is always the welcoming prospects of new opportunities brought into the country as a result of the oil and gas sector, the likes of which we are here to observe today,” he added.
But in a world where government believes that “climate change threatens our very existence”, Phillips said that citizens are responsible for “shaping our future in a sustainable manner”.
“In the oil and gas industry, that means the sensible and responsible usage of oil and gas”.
It is to this end he, contended, that government is “grateful for pledges by the largest oil and gas companies in the world – including ExxonMobil – who have committed to reaching net-zero emissions through the development of low-emissions technology from operations under their control in keeping with the timeframe set out by the Paris Agreement.”
And emphasizing that local content and the development of this country’s human resources is a priority for government, he said that it is no “small task, and we do not take it lightly”.
Legislation
“We recognize the need for legislation, through a Natural Resources Act that will ensure the accountable and transparent management of the oil revenues. Additionally, a solid local content policy will further ensure that our citizens and local businesses are front of the line in reaping the greatest benefits of oil revenues from the extraction of these resources. Already, we have established a Local Content Panel aimed at engaging with stakeholders in the development of that policy,” the Prime Minister said.
“Beyond that … capacity building (is also required of) our people, many of whom have been and will continue to be required to outfit the labour force of the industry. And beyond capacity building, comes the knowledge and practices that will allow us to operate at an international standard as we prepare our economy for increased investments and growth,” he added.
In the oil and gas sector, when there are investments here, Phillips said that it comes with the concomitant economic advantages of increased job creation for locals and they also will benefit from skills transfer.
“Guyana’s local workforce will benefit from advanced skills training and diversification in a high-demand industry and opportunities for increased private/public partnerships, thereby creating a more robust business industry with benefits for multiple stakeholders in Guyana,” he said.
To ChampionX and like investors, he expressed, “Your confidence in Guyana’s potential is an honour to observe, especially in light of the current climate where the COVID-19 pandemic has stymied business operations worldwide. Thankfully, as we continue to work towards returning to life as close to what we knew before the pandemic, we are confident that we can move forward positively while reaping mutually beneficial gains from your investment. Guyana is on the brink of transformative development, and it will take every effort and all of our resources to effectively manage this development so that the country can thrive for generations to come. All this also comes with the responsibility for sustainability – managing our emissions while reaping the benefits of the extractive sectors.”
Inland Terminal
In 2019, Nalco Champion’s initial plans for the storage of chemicals at the JFL Inland Terminal at Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, for eventual transfer to ExxonMobil’s offshore Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) oil platform, had triggered protests from residents amidst concerns about possible health dangers to nearby communities.
The company subsequently notified the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that ExxonMobil had moved to access those services overseas and it would be moving its operations to Trinidad and Tobago as it had been given a temporary permit.
ExonMobil’s then Country Manager Rod Henson had explained that his company preferred that its service provider meet the requirements for a permanent operation in order to ensure operational certainty.
Nalco had assured ExxonMobil that it would be working to get the permanent location, even as Henson stressed that ExxonMobil wanted the service to be stationed here. He said that he understood that “Nalco is working in parallel to bring those operations into Guyana as quickly as possible.”
Former EPA Head Dr. Vincent Adams had said that he had hoped that the company would have taken the permit and put the measures outlined in place as the EPA was “bending backwards” to help. However, he said that he could not compromise health and safety for monetary gains.
Last year, Ecolab, had announced the name change and reasons. “Now, our Nalco Champion upstream business is known as ChampionX and our Nalco Champion downstream business has become Nalco Water. For more than ninety years, Nalco Champion has built its reputation on delivering unrivaled products and services to oil and gas operations worldwide,” the company had said on its website.
It followed an announcement the year before when Apergy announced that Ecolab Inc.’s ChampionX upstream business would be merged with Apergy to become ChampionX Corporation.
“Apergy and ChampionX come together to form what is today ChampionX, a global leader in oilfield technology solutions, chemistry programs and services, drilling technologies, artificial lift solutions, and automation technologies for the oil and gas industry,” ChampionX’s website states of its history.
