SBM Offshore held a vendor forum on Friday, the closing day of the International Energy Conference and Expo 2023, at the Marriott Hotel.
The company needs an expanded supplier base, as it is building, delivering and operating an increasing number of floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels for Guyana’s offshore operations.
The event included presentations by Supply Chain Support Manager, Flavia Werneck; Procurement Lead, Recardo Bovell; and Category Buyer, Pierre Pompilio. These presenters discussed SBM Offshore’s guidelines for prospective suppliers, including quality and conduct expectations.
General Manager, Martin Cheong said, “This forum is a significant step toward fostering closer relations with contractors and suppliers, especially our local companies, which is aligned with our local content master plan.”
SBM Offshore was the first major Exxon contractor to receive approval for its local content master plan by the Local Content Secretariat, in 2022.
Cheong said about 60% of SBM Offshore’s onshore staffers are Guyanese. With offshore staff factored in, the local content penetration is about 40-45%. In terms of vendor capacity, he said a sizable portion of what the company sources is also local. To increase local content penetration, Cheong said, SBM Offshore encourages its foreign suppliers to pursue joint ventures with Guyanese firms.
“Apart from being a key player in the country’s oil and gas industry, SBM Offshore places great emphasis on their sustainability footprint. As such, we continue to partner with local institutions to support sustainable development projects in alignment with our pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
SBM Offshore is supporting the Guyanese-owned Plympton Farms and the Hubu Aquafarm, ventures that allow its local operations to reduce dependence on imports to supply food to persons working aboard the FPSOs.
The company is also collaborating with the National Coordinating Coalition Incorporated for an Enhancing Livelihoods Youth Literacy Project, targeting youths in the Cummings Lodge/Sophia area between the ages of seven and 25.
SBM Offshore has so far been contracted by ExxonMobil to design, build and operate four FPSOs for the Liza Phases One and Two, Payara and Yellowtail projects. The Liza Destiny and Unity vessels are already online. Prosperity is expected to be delivered later this year, and the ONE GUYANA FPSO is expected in 2025.
