Exxon spent over $8.5B on local suppliers in 1st quarter of 2021

– number of Guyanese suppliers climbed to 2600

ExxonMobil’s Country President, Alastair Routledge, has revealed that for the first quarter of 2021 alone, Exxon spent over $8.5 billion on local suppliers – a figure that has skyrocketed since last year.

Routledge recalled that Exxon’s efforts to support local content was established even before the start of oil production in the Liza Phase one. He also cited what has been spent on local content for the year already.
“We support local businesses. One of the major initiatives that we started back in 2017, before the first project in fact, was the Centre for Local Development. That was before our first project and has been incredibly successful. And we continue to invest and support them.”
“To date, more than 2600 Guyanese and over 600 local suppliers are supporting the development of Guyana’s resources. And in this first quarter of 2021 alone, more than $8.5 billion was spent with those suppliers.”
Routledge also made reference to the Greater Guyana initiative. As part of its local content mandate, ExxonMobil Guyana, along with its Stabroek Block partners, had announced it would be making a GYD$20 billion or (US$100 million) investment in Guyanese over the next 10 years.
Routledge had said in February that the investment was aimed at expanding local capacity-building efforts and promoting sustainable economic development in Guyana. According to him, Exxon and its partners remain committed to the initiative.
“As a further note of ExxonMobil, Hess and CNNOC’s commitment to the country, earlier this year we announced the commitment of US$100 million to the Greater Guyana initiative, for the development of the economy. For investing in people and education. As we heard earlier, education is key for lifting the economy and creating a sustainable economy for the future,” Routledge said.
The Greater Guyana investment is fully funded by the Stabroek Block operating partners and is not cost recoverable. Routledge had explained at the virtual launch that the initiative started with months of discussions with key stakeholders in order to gain an understanding of the existing capacity and the areas where these funds could make a difference as part of Guyana’s transformative journey.
He had also explained that Exxon and its offshore co-venturers will choose capacity-building projects to fund in consultation with local, regional, and national stakeholders. These programmes are expected to be aligned with the country’s overall development objectives.
Third-party experts including Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) will be enlisted to implement initiatives and assess the programme’s effectiveness.
Already, three local entities – the University of Guyana, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council and the Centre for Local Business Development – have received funds and are carrying out programmes as part of the Greater Guyana Initiative.
The Greater Guyana Initiative will see the Centre for Local Business Development being transitioned into a long-term centre of excellence for the broader industry. More than 2500 Guyanese companies are registered with the centre, which was established by the co-venturers in 2017 with the mission of supporting local businesses to become globally competitive.
The initiative will also seek opportunities to expand existing support and advance higher education programmes at the University of Guyana. Through the Initiative, UG has already benefited from projects such as campus safety, telecommunications equipment enhancement and hosting visiting professors and experts.