HOUSTON, TEXAS — TechnipFMC began recruiting and training Guyanese engineers before securing offshore contracts in the country, a move the company says helped it keep pace with the rapid buildout of Guyana’s oil industry. The company’s Onshore Operations Director, Omon Dibua spoke during a panel discussion at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.
“Our first class of engineers that we hired, we actually hired them before we won anything,” Dibua said.
He explained that the company anticipated a fast development timeline offshore Guyana and believed waiting until work was awarded would leave too little time to build local technical capacity.
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“If we were to win it, we can’t hire people after that because we won’t be able to meet the project,” he stated.
According to Dibua, the company’s earliest Guyanese recruits were sent overseas for technical exposure before returning home to support operations.
“They could see the equipment, help build the equipment, and then when they come back to Guyana, they can actually work on the equipment,” he said.
The training was carried out at TechnipFMC facilities in Houston and Brazil as the company expanded alongside offshore activity in the Stabroek Block.
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TechnipFMC supplies subsea production systems and related services for offshore developments in Guyana, including subsea trees and equipment installed on the seabed. The company has supported multiple developments in the Stabroek Block for ExxonMobil and its co-venturers Hess and CNOOC.
Dibua said TechnipFMC’s presence in Guyana began with a small office setup in 2016.
“Maybe four people sitting in the comics box,” he recalled.
The company has since expanded to a local workforce of more than 250 employees supporting subsea operations and related services. He said the company’s focus moved beyond staffing operations toward developing Guyanese supervisors and managers.
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Several of the company’s earliest Guyanese hires now occupy management roles and oversee newer employees entering the operation, according to Dibua.
