With approximately US$200 million already invested to meet the needs of the expanding oil and gas sector, Guyana Shore Base Incorporated (GYSBI) is seeking to plug an additional US$250 million to further develop its capacity.
GYSBI is a consortium comprising Muneshwer’s Limited, TOTALTEC Oilfield Services, Pacific Rim Constructors, and LED Offshore. Its current Houston, East Bank Demerara 30-acre property, where operations began in 2017, was purchased from timber company Caribbean Resources Limited in 2014, for US$20 million.
In a 2019 interview with Stabroek News, GYSBI Partner and Executive Director Robin Muneshwer had pointed to an increase from a two to a four-berth facility that would operate on a 24-hour basis at the Houston waterfront property, and it had formed part of a US$100 million planned second phase of expansion.
On Friday, Muneshwer and GYSBI’s General Manager Sean Hill told Stabroek News that the expansion is progressing with a number of contractors working simultaneously on several projects. The major project right now is the construction of two specialty berthing facilities. A berth refers to an allotted space on a wharf or dock for ships. GYSBI’s two berths are expected to cost around US$16 million.
Muneshwer told Stabroek News that they are employing new technology in the construction of the two berths and as a result it has been a learning experience for both the company and its contractors. The company is employing the Open Cell sheet pile technology which is the first of its kind in Guyana. It is mainly used primarily on docks. The design consists of vertically arranged driven flat sheet piles that act as membranes to retain soil, ideal for civil and structural applications.
“That project has had a lot of moving parts [so] that it has become an incredibly complex project. The initial focus was to just build the waterfront and then the rest of the land behind we will develop it over time but because of all the related engineering work and so on, we did everything in one shot. So it’s taking longer than we anticipated and there were challenges in the construction, timelines of events and so on. You know we went through a learning curve with one berth, so the other berth that we’re doing now, it’s much more speeded up,” Muneshwer related.
“We have to put in all the necessary infrastructure to support drilling activities – oil, fuel, water, the drilling fluids – right [and] all utilities so when it’s delivered to Exxon, it’s a fully functional berth. The berths we have are fully functional but they grew in time. This one, we know what we had to do here, so we put it on there. So that’s why it’s taking longer than we anticipated,” he added.
Speaking to the challenges the company experienced, Hill explained that it mainly revolved around teaching the new construction methodology to the contractors and having it executed within the acceptable guidelines. He added that they also had to factor in the natural environment in their construction and that has been proving to be a challenge since “there’s not much you can do to hurry Mother Nature along.”
“Waiting for Mother Nature to do her part has taken significantly longer than what we intended. So you know with a development like this there’s a part of it … completely within our control as project managers or within the contractors’ control on logistics lead times. Then there’s an element of these sorts of developments that is just purely Mother Nature and no matter how hard we try, she is going to do what she wants to do,” he added.
The General Manager explained that the expansion on the waterfront is also being done in tandem with works in the industrial estate. He said that GYSBI is constructing two additional warehouses to further meet the demands of the sector as they continue to grow.
Hill also related that the company is planning its expansion activities as the demand for its services grow. With access to 175 acres of land, they have been developing in phases.
“We’ve currently developed about 70 acres out there at the moment and that encompasses a range of different services and solutions from pipe management, chemical storage, materials storage…
“And at the moment, some of the construction activities that are going on there right now include a large maintenance facility that’s going up to service all the equipment that we have running around here at the shore base and at the industrial park. We have some utilities going out there but we also have some warehousing going out there that is available for rent, as well as a large open storage area. So we are continuing to develop the services that we have behind the berths,” he said.
Competition
GYSBI is the first and only shore base facility in Guyana and there has been talk of several similar ventures but to date, none has materialized.
When asked about how competition would impact GYSBI, Muneshwer said that they have always set the standard and have reached out to smaller operators for collaboration. However, he was quick to note that the amount of shore base facilities required in Guyana is not as much as persons are anticipating.
“Frankly, the needs are probably not as great as other people anticipate. I may be biased in that comment but the fact is, we’re five years down the road and every day we continue to expand, every day we continue to invest in our facility. So far, other bases have yet to be realized.
“We have never said or expressed any statement where we said we are the industry and we’re the only shore base and we will never say that. We’ve done the opposite. We’ve reached out to other shore base operators and some reached out to us as well with the intention of working collaboratively. There are niche opportunities for other operators, for additional bases and we believe those will come into fruition in the years ahead. But for other bases to compete against us they will have to invest significantly more than we have without the benefit of a contract so it will be purely on speculation and I don’t think that’s a worthwhile investment for the country,” the executive explained.
He added that there are many opportunities in the oil and gas sector and urged companies to invest.
It should be noted that even with GSYBI’s planned expansion, ExxonMobil has stated that according to their projections of production of 500,000 barrels per day by 2025, the shore base alone will not suffice for its needs and it had last month advertised for firms to offer additional onshore support services capabilities.
Of GYSBI’s 550 employees, 94% are Guyanese and the company is looking to add more to its rota. Hill said that GYSBI is an equal opportunity employer and currently has 80 female on staff functioning in a number of posts.
“We have females in the office working as banksman, working as equipment operators. So there is no discrimination here at all. It doesn’t matter which region you come from, doesn’t matter ethnic origin, or sexuality. Everyone is given equal opportunity,” he said.
GYSBI has also held career fairs in an effort to fill positions and also employs a policy of filling vacancies internally before advertising.
