A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Texan company, Excalibar Minerals LLC and Guyana’s Ithaca Energy Partners Inc. (IEP) will soon see the establishment of a barium manufacturing facility in the South American country to service the oil and gas sector.
The MoU was signed on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas.
The understanding is that a joint venture will be formed to invest US$20 million to make the facility a reality.
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Excalibar Minerals coins itself as a quality processor and supplier of industrial minerals with services including sourcing, processing, packaging and distribution of high-quality minerals used as fillers/extenders in paint, plastics, ceramics and oil service end products.
The metal, barium, and its compounds may be found in nature or produced industrially to make paint, bricks, tiles, glass, rubber. It is also used in the oil and gas industry to make drilling mud.
It is expected that the local facility will supply Guyana’s oil and gas industry with barite (barium sulfate).
Chief Executive Officer of IEP Linden Edmondson said the joint venture would create employment, transfer barium manufacturing technology to Guyana, and provide training for several Guyanese.
