Local financial services group, Hand-in-Hand, has teamed up with the Trinidadian arm of Tiger Rentals to establish a new company, Environmental and Technical Solutions Inc. (ETS), catering to hazardous waste treatment in the oil and gas sector.
The company, which was launched last night at the Marriott Hotel, was recently awarded a five-year contract by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) to treat hazardous waste.
At the launch General Manager, Shane Singh, explained that they were in months of discussions with local companies before forming a partnership with Hand-in-Hand. On the sidelines, he explained that due to the matrix of Tiger Rentals framework and Guyana’s Local Content policy, it was not possible for them to sell a portion of the company. It was against this backdrop, that they formed the partnership. Tiger Tanks has been operating in Guyana since 2014, when they first serviced Canadian oil explorer, CGX.
Singh stated that with an agreement in place, they were able to formalise the new company in August 2022.
The company boasts of a hundred per cent Guyanese workforce and has an almost even 50/50 gender balance in supervisory and management posts.
The new company, Singh explained, will continue to offer the premium suite of services as was being offered by Tiger Rentals to treat hazardous waste in Guyana.
“We have invested heavily in state-of-the-art technology to safely collect, transport, treat and dispose of a variety of waste streams.” He added that some of the equipment has the capability to drain various streams of wastewater, waste oils, drilling fluids, contaminated soils, and solids and byproducts from vessel tank cleaning and spill response clean up.
The company, Singh further stated, has plans to expand their range of services in the oil and gas sector and will continue to meet the needs of their customers.
Meanwhile, Director Denis Latiff, said that the new company is the most advanced and experienced waste management company in Guyana. The experience of Tiger Rentals has set them apart from their competitors and gives them the edge to prepare for what is coming in the sector.
According to the company’s website, Tiger Rentals has decades of experience in the management (temporary storage, waste transfer and disposal) of generated wastes and other residual material.
Latiff stated that from the inception, the company had signalled its commitment to local content with 75 per cent of the staff in their operations being locals.
Since setting up here, Tiger Rentals has been transferring local knowledge and training opportunities to Guyanese. Some Guyanese have also had the opportunity to be trained in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Today we have 34 locals operating and maintaining the first hazardous waste management facility in Guyana,” Latiff stated. The facility is set up in the Guyana Shore Base Inc. compound at Houston, East Bank Demerara.
Meanwhile, Hand-in-Hand Executive Director, Keith Evelyn, said the group was elated to find a feasible partnership in the oil and gas sector. He noted that as a company with a strictly banking and finance background, Hand-in-Hand was somewhat puzzled when it came to deciding the direction in which the company could diversify.
Evelyn emphasised that this partnership gives his company a tremendous opportunity in an emerging sector.
The launch of ETS, he opined, signals a positive message to persons who are looking at investments and partnerships, as well as the drafters of the local content policy and others that, both Guyanese and foreign companies can benefit from the sector.
At the level of Hand-in-Hand’s Centre of Excellence, he said they are prepared to share their model with companies who are interested. He pointed out that through the model, they were able to conceptualise a partnership agreement with a company with no experience in oil and gas with one that does.
Hand-in-Hand says it is Guyana’s longest established Group of Insurance Companies.
