With the government’s recent launch of the licensing round for 14 offshore oil blocks, the Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) says local content will be further developed and they are preparing to be a “greater” contributor to the economy and country, in general.
GMSA President, Rafeek Khan made this disclosure as he encouraged companies in the manufacturing sector be “more and more” prepared for the opportunities to come. “….We at the manufacturing and services association will be preparing ourselves to be a greater contributor to the country and the economy,” Khan told a press conference yesterday afternoon.
“I would like to strongly suggest that those companies who have been seeking opportunities now is your time…..Keep pushing forward stronger and stronger with regards to standards, with regards to quality, with regards to building capacity,” he said.
“This recent announcement is going to help us prepare ourselves, we as a country, we at the Manufacturing Services Association and especially the services end, we have been building capacity over the last year, especially from the Local Content legislation that was passed,” Khan added.
Khan further stated that transparency is vital and the GMSA looks forward to ongoing participation and collaboration from Government. “As we go forward with consultations, what we want to see happening is how we could become more competitive in our country….For us to become competitive, we have got to prepare for the future. Manufacturing is essential. Regional exports is essential. We represent a great portion of negotiations when it comes to trade with organisations and now that we have this new opportunity, it will see Guyana as becoming more vibrant than before,” Khan explained.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Trade, Investment and Legal Committee of the GMSA, Ramesh Dookhoo said the GMSA believes with the recent announcement there will be “huge” opportunity for local content to be further developed so that more Guyanese companies can benefit.
“We believe also there is huge opportunity for local business. The issue of energy…especially for the manufacturing sector has been a huge issue. If we put 14 more oil blocks out there, imagine what the supply chain of liquid petroleum gas will become and look at what that increase supply will do to prices,” Dookhoo told the press conference.
While stressing the need to expeditiously move to develop the country’s oil and gas resources, President Irfaan Ali on Friday launched the licensing round for 14 offshore oil blocks.
“We have a situation where there is a timeframe on oil and gas development. We understand the direction in which the world is going, so it is very important for us to have developers who are serious, who will expeditiously move towards developments of the oil and gas resources,” Ali said in an announcement broadcast on his Facebook page.
He added that April 14, 2023 has been set as the deadline for the close of submission for bids and contracts are expected to be awarded by the end of May, 2023, following evaluation of bids and negotiations.
The blocks being offered in what is the country’s first licensing round are located in shallow and deepwater areas offshore, which are estimated to hold potential resources in excess of 25 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and an estimated reserve in excess of 11 billion boe.
The minimum signature bonus requirement of US$10 million for shallow water blocks and US$20 million for deepwater blocks were among new fiscal terms and conditions announced last month.
Ali said that the process will be transparent and there will be different requirements and qualifications for shallow and deep-water operations reflective of international best practices given the different types of expertise and capabilities that are required.
