A revised draft Local Content Policy has been the focus of intense consultations in Guyana since February, and it is expected that an updated version of this document will form the basis for a local content framework that would see a final policy being put in place.
The overarching importance of having a policy that clearly identifies targets and provides guidelines for maximising the participation of Guyanese in the rapidly expanding oil and gas sector formed the basis for a discussion set to be premiered by OilNOW TV tonight via its Facebook Page.
The panel, which includes Natasha Gaskin-Peters, Director for the Centre of Local Business Development, Timothy Tucker, member of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Marny Daal, former Director at the Staatsolie Hydrocarbon Institute, looked at the role local content plays in the development of oil producing states.
The panel also discussed the need for targets to be realistic in the context of the country’s preparedness but stressed that the policy should also play an integral role in ensuring that there is a framework for capacity building and skills development.
“If there is no strong local content and the development of capacity in the country, you will have to get people to come and do it,” Tucker points out, emphasising that capacity must be built locally and ramped up to cater to most of the service requirements of the industry.
“We want to ensure that money is kept in our economy and reinvested,” Gaskin-Peters says, outlining the measures the Centre has been taking to help local companies build capacity and acquire certifications that are vital for the provision of services in the oil and gas industry.
Meanwhile Daal reminds that, “It’s the people who own the resources. Not only us who live in 2021, but our children and grandchildren.”
Both Guyana and Suriname are at similar stages in the development of their offshore hydrocarbon resources and the governments in both countries have recognized the importance of setting up local content rules that allow for their country to reap maximum benefits.
The programme will premiere at 7:00 PM on the OilNOW Facebook Page.
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