Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, has warned that the country’s Local Content law must not be misused by local companies as a cover for poor standards or inflated costs.
“The local content legislation, by no means, is protection from mediocrity and overpricing,” Bharrat said at the recent Local Content Summit in Georgetown.
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He urged local businesses to remain competitive and meet international standards, noting, “We must be able to compete regionally and internationally, both in quality and pricing.”
Bharrat emphasized that the law was designed to create a level playing field for Guyanese, not to exclude foreign investment.
“We are still working with the local partners and international companies to revise schedule one,” he said. “We have built more capacity over the last three years.”
However, he cautioned that calls for legislative change should not be used as an excuse to delay investment. “Do we really need to change the local content legislation for people to actually decide to invest in the oil and gas sector? I don’t think so,” Bharrat said.
The Local Content Act was passed in Parliament in December 2021 with the intent of regulating the activities in the emerging oil and gas sector in a manner that drives Guyana’s economic growth and development.
The country is also poised to set up a local content fund – as announced by Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali in 2023 – to help emerging businesses in the oil and gas sector.
In January, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, announced that the Local Content Register now includes over 1,100 companies. In 2024, the Local Content Secretariat facilitated approximately US$743 million for services and employment from Guyanese businesses. Since the law was enacted in 2021, procurement from Guyanese companies has exceeded US$1.5 billion.
Just last month, the Local Content Secretariat launched its app at the SBM Offshore Guyana Let’s Talk Local Content Forum held at the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo.
