ExxonMobil opens business development centre

…as proposal to expand operations being explored

ExxonMobil has opened its Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD), to provide support to existing and potential new suppliers and other stakeholders wishing to develop local companies.
Located on the third floor of the IPED building on South Road, Georgetown, the CLBD will offer customised coaching to entrepreneurs, in addition to financial support and business networking opportunities. It is understood that the initial focus will be on local vendors serving key sectors of the oil-and-gas industry.
Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman revealed that he has urged ExxonMobil to expand the services offered by the centre. During his remarks to attendees of the CLBD opening on Thursday, Trotman encouraged the public to visit, and become acquainted with, the CLBD’s operations.
“We have a large body of businessmen and women and corporate entities that ask the question every day: ‘How can we be a part of what is happening?’ This centre is the first of its kind, and I have urged Exxon and its partners to take it beyond the confines of this building,” the minister disclosed.
Minister Trotman said he has strongly recommended that the CLBD hold workshops throughout the ten administrative regions, to inform the citizenry of the opportunities on offer. Goods and services that form areas of opportunity include marine operations, safety equipment, fabrication, inspection, civil construction, warehouse; and last but not least, catering.
According to CLBD Project Director Patrick Henry, the CLBD would conduct courses such as financial management alongside IPED and other partners, among other initiatives.
“The Centre has a supplier registration portal,” Henry related to the media. “And we ask that businesses come in (and) register in the portal. From there, we’ll do assessments of businesses. We’ll run training classes to help them in areas like understanding the offshore oil-and-gas sector, and see what opportunities they have,” Henry said.
“We’ll help them in areas such as safety, health, and the environment. (We’ll give them) an overview to understand what that means for the oil-and-gas sector as well as other sectors.
And then we’ll conduct courses through our partners. (Courses) like financial management or supply chain management training, which allows them to access the opportunities upcoming,” he added.
ExxonMobil, its contractors, the broader oil-and-gas industry, and the Government would be able to utilise the CLBD for sourcing local vendors and services.
Now that it has opened the CLBD, for which it is providing funding, ExxonMobil will, over a three-year period, work with DAI Global to transition the CLBD into the hands of Guyanese management.