As interest surrounding local content in Guyana continues to heighten, the Guyana Oil & Gas Association (GOGA) will be staging a public lecture on Friday in the country’s capital, Georgetown, to discuss this.
The Association said in a press statement on Wednesday the extent to which the output of the oil and gas industry will generate further benefits to the Guyanese economy is of interest to citizens and stakeholders in the sector. As such, GOGA felt it was prudent to facilitate a discussion on local content, “in adhering to its objectives and mandate of providing a forum for sharing experiences, debating emerging issues and establishing common ground to promote co-operation, consistency and effectiveness for the oil and gas potential of our nation…”
GOGA recently submitted its formal comments in general and specific formats, on the Draft Local Content Policy Framework to the Ministry of Natural Resources; the agency responsible for the petroleum industry in Guyana. The draft framework has come in for heavy criticism from sections of the country’s business community, with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) describing its contents as representing a “strategic drift away from job creation.”
GOGA said the public lecture will address critical issues such as the role that local content can play in the development of the country, examples of local content laws and policies in several oil producing countries, and challenges to local content in fostering lasting benefits: preventing and curbing corruption. The Association said clear communication on the local content framework is needed so that public expectations can be managed carefully. “The energy sector does not have the capacity to create the volume of jobs required to make significant changes to employment demographics in Guyana,” GOGA stated.
The public lecture, which is the fourth staged so far by GOGA, will be conducted by Alicia Elias-Roberts, Attorney-at-Law Lecturer attached to the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago. It is scheduled to be held at the Pegasus Hotel and will get underway at 18:30hrs.
