Since 2015, US oil field service company Halliburton has been providing various drilling and completion services in Guyana, all of which were initially supported from neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago. The company has developed what it describes as ‘an early ambitious plan’ to migrate the support structure for these services to Guyana to enhance operational efficiency and reliability over the long term.
“Over the last two years we have reached several key milestones in regard to our local content plans,” said Grace Hutson, Halliburton’s Account Representative in Guyana. She was at the time making a presentation at the Guyana Oil and Gas Virtual Summit held last week.
Hutson said the milestones include commissioning of state-of-the-art repair and maintenance workshops for directional drilling equipment, construction and commissioning of Liquid Mud plant and Cement bulk facilities enabling 100% deliverability from Guyana, creation of a dynamic pool of local engineers, technicians, and administrative support staff and establishment of a comprehensive portfolio of vendors delivering various critical services fundamental to the company’s operations.
“By the end of 2020, more than 90 percent of our services will be provided out of Guyana,” Hutson pointed out.
She said Halliburton’s local content plan is divided into five categories, each depending on the maturity of the market. For new and developing markets (as in the case of Guyana currently) the focus is directed to three main areas. These include personnel acquisition and development, vendor contracting and sustainable development, and social commitments.
“For developed and mature market environments our focus further extends to strategic international business relationships and manufacturing,” she pointed out, adding that a special management team has been set up for the implementation of the company’s local content programme.
The development of Halliburton’s employees in Guyana is supported through various internal training and competency programs to ensure that they meet the company’s global standards. These programmes consist of Learning Central, which is a web based, learning management system, with over 5000 courses that include technical, professional, management and leadership training modules. A competency program also exists which allows employees to develop and demonstrate their capability to perform their roles. “Here is where each person takes ownership of their own competency development,” Hutson said.
International short-term assignments for local personnel are also part of the accelerated training program.
The company believes that building a strong local vendor supply chain is critical to maintaining consistency and reliability and plays a key role in sustainable service delivery. “Our Goal is to further establish and increase strategic partnerships with local vendors in a sustainable and meaningful manner,” the Account Representative said.
Local suppliers provide services in the areas of design and construction, fabrication and welding, real estate and warehousing management, supply of heavy equipment and logistics and mechanical and electrical works.
Halliburton also provides training to local vendors in several areas including Health, Safety and Environment.
Hutson said a fundamental part of the company’s strategy is its commitment to knowledge sharing and the development of the Guyana labor force.
“For this purpose, in 2019 and 2020, we collaborated with the Department of Energy and the Ministry of Education to deliver workshops for kids, teens, adults and teachers aimed at providing education on various aspects of the oil and gas industry and how they can be a part of it,” she pointed out.
In 2019, the company also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Guyana for the provision of staff development, program teaching support, expert engagement, and interventions to provide students with high technology tools used worldwide to increase their market competitiveness by strengthening their competencies.
