The President of the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) Manniram Prashad says the third annual Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit and Exhibition (GIPEX) set to be held next month is an “anti-local content event”, hence his organization will not be attending.
In outlining the reasons that inform his position, Prashad in a statement to the press on Wednesday said participating companies are required to sponsor or attend GIPEX at “exorbitant prices” and the revenue at the end of the day does not remain in the local economy. He further contented that in some cases, a “pittance is given if any at all, to the local collaborators.”
He said what also concerns him is the apparent attempt by organisers of the event to divide and exploit some local private sector groups with speaking slots as an incentive to add their name to the event. Prashad said, “As far as I am aware, the Private Sector Commission and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry have not added their names to the GIPEX 2021 Conference in June.”
Further to this, the GOGEC President articulated that the private sector is quite capable of promoting its own summit and exhibition that would arguably do more for the promotion of local content. He also noted that operators and subcontractors should make every effort to assist and work with the Guyanese private sector to advance its collective ambition to have this done.
“We call on all players in the oil and gas industry to support local content and avoid these carpetbaggers,” Prashad added.
When contacted, Shariq AbdulHai, Chief Executive Officer of Valiant Business Media (VBM), organiser of GIPEX 2021, said the event has always taken into consideration, or given priority to, local businesses or local companies.
“And again, this year, the rates are highly subsidized for the local businesses, especially the small to medium size companies and startups. They are paying the bare minimum of US$99 to attend, and we didn’t have any complaints or any such things from local businesses who are participating,” he said. “In fact, they appreciate how we are facilitating their participation at very minimum prices.”
He said the majority of local speakers which are confirmed are from non-sponsoring companies. “So, there is no criteria or condition for them to have paid to get a speaking slot, and speakers are chosen more on the basis of the agenda and on the basis of the content in order to ensure that we focus on the latest developments, issues and the local content development side of things.”
AbdulHai further added that there is local private sector support for this year’s event, pointing to the involvement of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA). “They are key partners and again, the whole idea of collaborating with them was so that we can focus on the local content development, especially smaller businesses,” he said.
Additionally, he said any student from the University of Guyana focusing on oil and gas has “complete, full free access to the event.”
In a statement last week, VBM said GIPEX 2021 is being organised jointly with the Ministry of Natural Resources, with support from GMSA.
OilNOW understands that the June date for the GIPEX event is likely to be shifted.
