Three skilled Guyanese companies have cinched contracts to conduct specialized fabrication services with a view to deliver more than 300 tonnes of steel for the Jaguar floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The massive ship is being constructed by SBM Offshore as part of ExxonMobil’s sixth offshore oil development in Guyana.
The Guyanese companies—Industrial Fabrications Incorporated (InFab), Guyana Oil & Gas Support Services Inc. (GOGSSI), and ZECO—were hired by SBM Offshore, in-keeping with its commitment to promote local content.
A steel strike ceremony was held on November 12 at the main base of the Guyana Shore Base Inc. (GYSBI) at Houston, East Bank Demerara.
Martin Cheong, General Manager of SBM Offshore told the companies: “Your ability to take what you’ve learnt and also extend this to other aspects of our society is commendable… I’m both proud and humbled to witness this key milestone as we prepare to construct our fifth FPSO for Guyana.”
The FPSO-builder has already delivered three such specialized vessels for Guyana, which are collectively producing 660,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d). It is on track to deliver the fourth FPSO next year and the Jaguar in 2027. Another FPSO, Errea Wittu, is being constructed by MODEC.
The award of the contracts to the three companies is a key achievement in the movement for local content in Guyana. The government has legislated the Local Content Act, which mandates the utilization of goods and services from qualified Guyanese providers.
Addressing the ceremony, Chief Executive Officer of InFab, Jerry Max Gouveia, said “The work we’re undertaking today is an integral part of Guyana’s broader economic development, and it signals the country’s growing capacity to sustain a thriving economy,” Gouveia stated.
This will be the fourth FPSO to be outfitted with steel fabricated by Guyanese companies. The first was Prosperity, which benefitted from the work of InFab and GOGSSI. ZECO became involved with the fabrication of steel for the ONE GUYANA FPSO.
Founder of ZECO, Zakir Hack, said “It has not been an easy journey but we stand here today as proof that hard work and determination pay off.”
Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer has played a pioneering role with respect to local fabrication for the oil sector. His company, GOGSSI, is credited with conducting the first in-country fabrication in support of Guyana’s oil operations, delivering massive subsea jumpers for the Liza 2 development.
Speaking at the ceremony, Boyer said “We’re very excited to conclude the steel strike so that this [Jaguar] FPSO can begin its project journey and then one day start producing oil for our country…. We’ve learned so much working with the Exxon team, the SBM team, and we hope that we get the opportunity to continue to do that.”
ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge congratulated the companies for their achievements. “It takes these dedicated businessmen who are taking risk; they are investing their own money to grow their facilities, to invest in their own people and to train them.”
The official described this as being part of a broader entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to quality among Guyanese people. He reminded that the work Exxon does requires it and its partners to meet high international standards.
Routledge said too that the Yellowtail project will be ready for start-up next year. He said he anticipates that there will be a naming ceremony in Singapore prior to the FPSO setting sail for Guyana in the second quarter of 2025. That FPSO will officially be named ONE GUYANA.
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat also congratulated the three companies, and expressed that there are so many other companies benefitting from the oil and gas sector. With ExxonMobil continuing to explore for and develop the resources offshore, there is a bounty of opportunity for locals to capitalize on.
“I don’t think we have seen this kind of growth anywhere in the world,” Bharrat said.
He qualified this comment, noting “Even though it is moving at a very fast pace, it is being regulated. It is being monitored.”
Bharrat urged that the companies operating in the oil and gas sector ensure they meet the requisite standards and comply with the law. He said the law is there to ensure benefits come to Guyanese companies without harming the investment climate.
Dr. Martin Pertab, Director of the Local Content Secretariat, said the government is looking to expand the suite of services carved out for Guyanese companies in the Local Content Act. He said the Secretariat is working to launch a Local Content App to boost access to opportunities for Guyanese nationals and companies, likely by the end of the year.
In addition to the contract awards by SBM Offshore, MODEC hired GOGSSI, ZECO and Asequith Guyana to provide fabrication services in support of construction for the Errea Wittu FPSO.
