Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, today told delegates of the Guyana Energy Conference that Guyanese are reaping the benefits of the country having a strong Local Content Legislation in place.

The Minister explained that ahead of the enactment of the Local Content Act in 2021, critics had warned that the legislation had the potential to push investors away, and ultimately “kill” the country’s Oil and Gas Industry, but he noted that the benefits today have proved those critics wrong.

“Today, we are seeing the true benefit of having that legislation in place with over 1,200 local businesses participating in the Oil and Gas Sector. With a consortium of over 17 catering businesses or companies in Guyana offering meals offshore to our workers on the FPSOs and drill ships. With consortiums today owning the three shore base companies that we have, and Guyanese have played a major role in developing the Oil and Gas Sector to date,” the Natural Resources Minister boasted.

The Minister said there are almost 7,000 Guyanese employed in the Oil and Gas Industry, and that number is likely to increase significantly now that the Guyana Technical Training College at Port Mourant has been commissioned.

“We want Guyanese to be petroleum engineers. We want Guyanese to be reservoir engineers. We want Guyanese to be technicians. We want Guyanese to be involved in the technical aspect of managing the sector, and that is why we have developed that college with our partner ExxonMobil – to train Guyanese to ensure that they can work,” Minister Bharrat said.\

With regards to partnerships for the sector, the Minister said Guyana maintains an excellent partnership with the Stabroek Block operators, as well as the Tier 1 and 2 contractors, who continue to provide key services. These relationships, he posited, augur well for the country.

“While you continue to network, we expect that from this conference that we will grow partnerships, that we will form joint ventures, that we will have consortiums, and that is the intention of our Government to ensure that we have local participation without keeping foreign investments out of Guyana, and I think we have achieved that to date,” the Natural Resources Minister said.

He also reminded that Guyana remains open for investment, noting that the environment is conducive for businesses.

“We invest in Guyana because there is predictability. We invest in Guyana because there is stability, there is security on your investment, and more importantly, you have a government encourages and will ensure that your investment is safe, secure and worthwhile,” he said.

Guyana began oil production in 2019, and the Minister today hinted at the need for greater partnerships with some of the other oil producing nations in CARICOM.

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