With close to 30 billion dollars spent in Guyana on the procurement of goods and services since 2015, ExxonMobil says it has a tripartite approach to local content and sees its application as one that benefits both the company and South American country.
The company says local content development is integral to its operations in the new oil and gas hotspot where it has made a record 14 discoveries in four years, amounting to more than 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
“When we look at local content, we look at three different areas; workforce development, supplier development and we look at strategic investments in capacity building activities,” says Deedra Moe, ExxonMobil Guyana Senior Director, Public and Government Affairs.
In the area of workforce development, an increasing number of Guyanese – more than 1300 – are now involved in the project, which represents almost 50 percent of the company’s workforce going into the first phase of oil production, now just months away.
“When you look at supplier development, we have been working with almost 500 suppliers and vendors from engineering to food stuff and we have spent over 10 billion just through the first part of this year with those vendors,” she pointed out.
Moe said the company is on track to double what it spent in 2018. “It’s exciting to see that continued growth and we expect that continued growth. Over the years where we have been involved in different countries, that’s been the trend. You expect it to grow year on year as more opportunities become available to vendors and also as more capacity is built in-country.”
So far this year, Guyanese have been exposed to more than 121,000 hours of training, including in the United States, Singapore, Canada and Brazil.
Some of those trained in Singapore are now part of the team working on the Liza Destiny FPSO which will begin producing oil for the country within months.
The company has also forged partnerships with key institutions in the country such as the University of Guyana and Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, where it supports ongoing programmes and new initiatives.
