As the Ministry of Natural Resources reconvened with major Guyanese caterers from across the country, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat has committed to identifying a team to support the birth of the caterer consortium.
During the second meeting Bharrat held on October 20 with the catering companies, he committed to identifying a legal counsellor, an accountant and a consultant to form a team. This team, which will be hired on a short-term basis, will render the backing the companies will need to create the consortium. The conglomerate, which will serve as a special purpose company, is being established to tap into the food supply market of Guyana’s oil and gas sector.
In speaking to the companies, the minister noted that if businesses wish not to be part of the consortium, they can still benefit from this multi-million-dollar market.
“You can own as an owner or a supplier; You can be a member of this consortium or be a part of a preferential list that will supply goods and services offshore. Either way, you, as Guyanese businesses, get to tap into this market and earn massive revenue,” the Natural Resources Minister said.
A team from SBM Offshore – the operator of the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels – were also present at Thursday’s meeting. The representatives appraised the caterers on the company’s procurement process, its standards and capacity development objectives.
This appraisal comes on the heels of SBM publishing a Request for Information (RFI) seeking catering services for both FPSOs operating at the Stabroek Block.
Importantly, the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), will be extending waivers on duties and taxes for machinery and equipment needed to operationalise the work of the consortium. Major hotel investors will also benefit from this tax waiver.
The first schedule of Guyana’s Local Content Act carves out 40 sectors and sub-sectors for Guyanese businesses. Contractors, sub-contractors and licensees operating in Guyana are required to source 90% of their catering services from Guyanese. They are also required to source 75% of their food supply from Guyanese.
