More than 4,400 Guyanese are currently supporting ExxonMobil Guyana’s operations, representing some 64 percent of the industry’s workforce.
This is according to President of ExxonMobil Guyana Alistair Routledge who believes that early capacity building investments are paying dividends as seen in the growth of local content numbers.
“It speaks to the early commitments that we made around things like the Centre for Local Business Development starting in 2017, working with other organisations like the TVET schools, and the ministries to ensure that people are well-trained and available and able to contribute and play an important part in developing the nation’s resource,” Routledge said in a statement from the company.
The company is also working with the government to develop the Guyana Technical Training College Inc. The institution is expected to deliver world-class training and certification to Guyanese workers in five main areas: electrical, mechanical, instrumentation, process operations to support the oil and gas industry, along with civil and building construction to support the broader economy.
Routledge said that the money Guyana earns from oil sales and royalty payments is vital for the government to be able to execute its works but added that the company’s near-term impact would be felt more in its investments. Since the first discovery in 2015, the statement said ExxonMobil Guyana and its contractors have spent more than $140 billion with Guyanese suppliers.
“We will have a much bigger impact as we invest in the projects, as we build the business, through the development of local content and we’re able to give local businesses and people jobs and opportunities to grow, to develop skills and to be able to become competitive internationally”, Routledge said.
With nine discoveries in 2022 and a second project beginning in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana, he said that it has been a rewarding year for ExxonMobil Guyana.
“It’s all about the people; it starts with the ExxonMobil team but of course we count on the whole team of teams, many contractors and other organisations including many government regulatory agencies.
It’s truly transformational. We’re very fortunate to have made a true success here in Guyana. But now that we are on that path, putting it all together, continuing that success, momentum, from exploration into the development and the projects is fundamental to setting up this business for the future,” Routledge said.
In addition to expenditure on production, the statement said that ExxonMobil Guyana has been a consistent contributor to community initiatives with a focus on STEM education, community building, women empowerment and protecting the environment. The company has to date spent more than $2 billion on initiatives in these areas.
“We really want to play our part in the community and so we take our corporate social responsibility as seriously as we do our commitments to growing the business and delivering job opportunities for people.
And so, both as ExxonMobil ourselves and through our contribution budgets and the projects that we’ve embraced and of course the Greater Guyana Initiative, we are making some significant contributions to the community and to the development of the society and country,” Routledge added.
The Greater Guyana Initiative is a 10-year, $20 billion programme under which ExxonMobil Guyana and its Stabroek block co-venturers will fund capacity-building projects.
