Officials from the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) on Tuesday were given a tour of the ExxonMobil Centre for Local Business Development, located on South Road, Georgetown, Guyana.
President of GMSA, Shyam Nokta, in brief remarks said the manufacturing group sees the centre as a focal point for information on Guyana’s oil and gas sector and an institution that could help small and medium-scale businesses build capacity.
“We are looking forward to the training opportunities and the capacity building programme so the GMSA can effectively take full advantage of these opportunities,” Nokta said.
The Centre for Local Business Development, which opened its doors on July 13, offers tailored coaching, access to financial support services, and business-to-business networking opportunities. It will focus initially on local vendors that serve key sectors of the oil and gas industry, including safety equipment, marine operations, offshore supply, fabrication, inspection and testing facilities, civil construction services, warehousing, spare parts management, and catering.
ExxonMobil’s Country Manager in Guyana, Rod Henson said the centre is an important initiative for the company and is in keeping with its objective to ensure local communities benefit from opportunities in the sector. “We always want to help benefit the communities in which we work. We do that in many ways and one of the ways we do that is to try to help local businesses to see opportunities in the oil and gas industry,” he said.
Also in attendance were 12 students currently participating in the Ministry of Natural Resources 3-week Youth Apprenticeship Programme. The students were on a visit to the facility as part of a day of activities learning more about ExxonMobil’s operations in Guyana.
Representatives from TechnipFMC – ExxonMobil’s prime contractor for subsea development of the Liza project – also participated in the event and interacted with the GMSA representatives.
