ExxonMobil Guyana says it has been pursuing various initiatives to ensure hundreds of Guyanese are able to take up leading roles in supporting the operations of the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Public and Government Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud, disclosed during a recent interview with OilNOW that there are 109 Guyanese supporting operations on the SBM Offshore-operated vessel while adding that the recruitment of others to support the Liza Unity FPSO is being progressed.
“Our goal is to have 75% Guyanese workforce on each FPSO by the eighth year of operation,” Persaud noted.
In addition to the Liza Destiny and Unity FPSOs, a third vessel – Prosperity – for the Payara Development, and a fourth for the Yellowtail project, have already been approved.
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“As of the first quarter of 2021, there were more than 2,600 [Guyanese] supporting our overall activities in Guyana. This represents more than 55 percent of the total workforce. These individuals continue to be trained locally and abroad in countries such as Trinidad, Brazil and the US,” Persaud said.
She shared as well that during the first quarter of the year, more than 41,000 hours of training were provided to Guyanese staff mostly in the areas of Professional/Technical and Safety Health and Environment training.
Where supplier development is concerned, Persaud said more than 3000 Guyanese businesses are registered with ExxonMobil’s Centre for Local Business Development which continues to provide training in several areas and other forms of support in aiding local businesses to become globally competitive. The Centre which has its headquarters on South Road in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, has also mentored 21 companies in ISO 9001, 15 of which are either certified or compliant, the ExxonMobil Guyana official shared.
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In the first quarter of 2021, she was keen to note that over GY$8B was spent with more than 600 vendors while adding that last year, spending was more than GY$30B.
Persaud was keen to note that the company’s strategic community investments such as the recently launched GY$20B Greater Guyana Initiative without a doubt, complement its efforts to develop Guyana’s natural resources by supporting capacity initiatives in several sectors, including health, education and the environment.
Taking the foregoing into account, she said it is quite clear that ExxonMobil Guyana is implementing successful local content initiatives to help build a sustainable workforce and supplier capabilities, while adding that “our progress on these initiatives to date is aligned with the strategic objectives of the government’s Local Content Policy.”
By using a multi-tiered approach, Persaud said ExxonMobil develops its local workforce and supply chain according to applicable laws and regulations, as well as environmental and safety standards and ethical business practices.
“We remain committed to hiring Guyanese, growing the percentage of Guyanese making up our workforce and working with local companies to build their capacity,” she stated.
