Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T) former Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs, Kevin Ramnarine recently conducted a poll via LinkedIn to ascertain whether the twin-island Republic should legislate its local content requirements.
78% of the votes were in the affirmative.
The first successful oil well in T&T was drilled back in 1866 and commercial production began in 1908, some 116 years ago.
What the country currently has is a “Local Content and Local Participation Policy and Framework” that was approved by its cabinet in 2004. It led to the establishment of a Permanent Local Content Committee (PLCC), comprising a wide range of stakeholders, to oversee the implementation of the policy and to report to the Cabinet.
According to its energy ministry website, “the Policy was designed in alignment with the government’s recognition of the value slippage caused by goods and services being provided by mostly foreign companies, often in spite of the availability of high-quality T&T providers, and of its role in defending the right of the people of T&T to retain as much of the value from their resources as possible.”
Ramnarine, who served as energy minister from June 2011 to September 2015, had raised these concerns before. In a 2022 OilNOW column, he deemed it “unfortunate” that talk of Trinidad’s local content capacity had become nearly non-existent, considering the years of experience the country has in the oil industry. He pointed out that the topic of local content has received “deafening silence”, no longer afforded precedence at conferences or even seminars relating to the sector.
He said this sends a dangerous message that it is okay to ignore the skill base and resources that are offered by the country. Ramnarine advised that Trinidad can take a page from Guyana’s local content book, where the government has been pushing to ensure maximum participation by its citizens.
Guyana did things a bit differently with its oil sector.
It has only been a producer for four years. The newcomer to the industry wasted little time implementing a local content law to garner the most for its citizens out of the oil and gas industry.
Guyana well positioned to tackle local content in some unique ways – WoodMac analyst | OilNOW
Guyana’s Local Content Act lists a schedule of 40 services outlined to ensure Guyanese participation in the sector, including catering, accounting, and welding. The Act was crafted to ensure that Guyanese companies are considered first and foremost to provide the services outlined.
For any foreign investor wanting to operate within those 40 areas, with preferential treatment in procurement awards, it would be required to partner with a Guyanese company with the Guyanese having 51% or more beneficial ownership among other critical factors. This specific provision has been the topic of discourse since the Act was implemented.
