Building, utilising local content imperative to moving sector forward

Oil and gas sector

…as GMSA members benefit from local business development course

Several high ranking Private Sector officials and members of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) have benefited from an ongoing course and in-depth discussion on the role of local content in the development of Guyana’s emerging oil and gas sectors.

The course was delivered by the Director of the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD), Patrick Henry, and Senior Business Specialist Natasha Gaskin-Peters in the conference room of the Centre, which is located on South Road, Bourda.
The main focus of the course was to give suppliers an understanding of the core concepts of local content while also exploring the common barriers to entering the oil and gas supply chain. It also saw participants benefiting from a presentation which highlighted a number of ways in which they could benefit from the limitless opportunities that would become available as a result of the emerging sectors.
In brief remarks, GMSA President Shyam Nokta underscored the importance of the course and the need for industry and GMSA members to familiarise themselves with the changing dynamics that will take place in Guyana’s economy as a result of the oil exploration, development and production activities that will take place in the sector.
He thanked all of the participants for demonstrating continued interest in the work of the Business Development Centre as he encouraged them to utilise all of the services it is currently offering businesses that are free.
Meanwhile, Henry also welcomed the business representatives and GMSA members to the course which he said was only one step in securing a holistic and informed view of what really constitutes an effective local content policy.
Henry said businesses should also strive to understand the concept of “value added” and the resources available locally to drive investments and maximise opportunities that will become available over the next few years.
During a PowerPoint presentation which was delivered largely by Peters, participants heard some of the local barriers for suppliers who are seeking to benefit from the emerging oil and gas sectors and the concept of value added are insufficient knowledge of the industry development process and timelines, failure to meet industry standards, and non-compliance with health, safety and security and environment requirements. Other barriers included lack of proven experience and demonstrated track record, accessing new sources of finance for new capital investments and understanding how to do business using e-procurement systems with IOCs.
The GMSA members and other officials were also made aware of the challenges related to local content. These include competitiveness, procurement and sourcing, business environment and the structure of the economy.
The course facilitators also informed participants on the key to winning contracts which they said was related to how competitive their businesses and partnerships were when compared to others who were likely to provide the similar products.
They were advised that in order to become more competitive, focus had to be placed on addressing issues related to capacity, cost and price, financial strength, market experience, quality standards, timelines, workforce skills, upstream capabilities, and safety record.
During the three-hour event, GMSA members were also broken up into groups and asked to coin their own definitions of what Guyana’s local content policy should be before an open discussion was held on the significance of those definitions as well as the implications.