The Guyana Oil & Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) and the Suriname Energy Chamber (SEC) on Saturday signed a non-binding Memorandum of Under-standing [MoU] aimed at promoting joint ventures and partnerships between Guyanese and Surinamese investors, and to undertake joint activities aimed at investment promotion at the countries’ national and regional levels.
“The objective of this Memorandum of Understanding is to provide a framework for cooperation between the Suriname Energy Chamber and the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber to facilitate business development support, including timely access to incentives for the energy sector, to promote joint ventures and partnerships between local and foreign investors, and to undertake joint activities aimed at investment promotion at the national and regional level,” GOGEC said in a statement, following the signing. It said that the signing marks the culmination of two years of efforts to ratify a shared vision and framework for enhancing private sector opportunities across the two countries.
“The Memorandum is not legally binding, it sets the platform for deeper cooperation bilaterally and regionally that will see the energy-related private sector bodies for both countries address issues such as enhancing ‘local effects’ of resource extraction, accelerating energy transition through the private sector, and championing energy companies’ adoption of robust environmental, social, and governance,” the Guyana private sector oil and gas body stated. It’s head, Manniram Prashad, told the Stabroek News that with Suriname, a nascent oil producing nation, cooperation between the two countries have been longstanding and it was only natural to tap into joint resources to get maximum benefits from the sector.
GOGEC said that the partnership will also see a continued push towards maximizing relationships across the energy value chain, deepening existing relationships in traditionally developed economies, and promoting new relationships across the global South. The signing was held at the Ministry of Natural Resources (Guyana), witnessed by Minister Vickram Bharat. The non-binding MoU was ratified by Prashad and President of the Suriname Energy Chamber, Orland Olemberg. Also in attendance were Luanna Persaud, Vice President of GOGEC, Joel Bhagwandin, Director of Finance and Planning, Rennie Leow, Director of Information technology and Distributed Generation, and Dillon Clarke, Director of Energy.
