The Centre for Local Business Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the American Petroleum Institute, paving the way for ISO 9001 certified companies in Guyana to expand their training and acquire certification for the manufacturing of components and provision of services in the oil and gas sector.
On Monday, the Centre’s Director, Dr. Natasha Gaskin-Peters made the announcement at a media briefing.
“Over the past two years, API and the Centre have been in discussions to identify opportunities for collaboration, especially as it relates to training that really supports local Guyanese businesses in the oil and gas industry and helps to build on their technical capabilities in order to compete in the industry,” Dr. Gaskin-Peters said.
The API certification is a globally recognized one that is used across the industry. Dr. Gaskin-Peters explained that the API certification is in essence an ‘upgrade’ from ISO 9001 certification. This MoU will see the expansion of training and implementation of API Specifications Q1 and Q2, the sharing of information and expansion of training related to Health, Safety, Security and the Environment (HSSE). It will also enable the development of API-U courses, instructor-led training for Guyanese companies and the implementation of the API Individual Certification Programme in Guyana.
Dr. Gaskin-Peters noted, “In our HSSE programme, we have over 260 local Guyanese companies registered with us so those companies will be able to benefit from this MoU with the American Petroleum Institute. In addition, we also have 21 companies in our ISO programme and those companies are looking to what is the next step.”
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Vice President, Segment Standards and Services at API, Ms. Alexa Burr said that the organisation is enthusiastic to help build the foundation and competitiveness of local businesses to help support the growth of the energy industry in Guyana.
“We know for the past few years, Guyana is really becoming a leader in offshore energy development and we’re excited to be working for the Centre for Local Business Development to help bring a lot of the international expertise that API has through our close to 600 members and bring the lessons learned globally to the efforts in Guyana,” Burr said.
She explained that API’s members operate in all segments of the oil and natural gas industry. “We’re all working together to advance environment health and safety protection and we’re excited to… really facilitate the use of API standards which are recognized globally as best in class standards used by international regulators to help enhance operations across the energy industry,” she added.
Burr further noted that over 5000 companies are licensed through the API’s programmes globally.
