Guyana building deepwater capability, capacity that C’bean nations could tap into – Pres Ali

– as local company offering marine support services, training for O&G launched

With several countries across the Caribbean now exploring their oil and gas (O&G) resources, President Dr Irfaan Ali says that Guyana is developing the necessary capability and capacity that could be tapped into by its neighbours.
The Head of State made this remark on Wednesday afternoon during the launch of Orinduik Marine Services (OMS) – a locally owned company that provides diving and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) services to the local oil and gas industry.
In addition to offering marine support services to oil companies, OMS, which is located at Lusignan on the East Coast of Demerara, is also a training facility to prepare workers for offshore employment opportunities.

According to President Ali, during his feature address, the launch of this company is not only about technology transfer but the most cutting edge and latest technology that is being applied here in Guyana in less than a decade of operations in the O&G sector, especially ultra deepwater operations.
“What we are witnessing here took many with greater capability and capacity 30 plus years to achieve …that is what we’re celebrating here today. And what we’re witnessing here is an investment and a series of investments taking place in our economy that is not going to take us on a plateau of development, it is good take us on a steep rise long into the future,” he posited.
These investments, the Guyanese leader outlined, are not just geared towards the local ultra deepwater operations but would eventually cater to regional needs. Currently, Suriname is gearing up for first oil in 2028 offshore, while countries like Barbados and Jamaica are pushing offshore explorations.
“Who in the region has that inbuilt capacity and capability now to take the lead? It’s not Trinidad and Tobago, it is Guyana who is developing that capability and capacity for deep and ultra deep – and that did not happen by accident,” the Head of State noted.

According to President Ali, Guyana’s local content legislation has played a key role in accelerating the type of investment being made by OMS, as well as support partnerships between local and international companies.
He reminded that the role of the local content laws is not to shut out international partners, but to accelerate the growth of partnerships so that the distance of time for technology transfer, knowledge transfer and capability transfer can be shortened, while at the same time empowering Guyanese businesses and citizens here as well.
It is for this reason, he pointed out, that educational and training institutions in the country have zero corporate tax obligations, because they are offering the technical skills that are so critically needed in the trajectory of the country’s development.
“There was the deep understanding, from a policy perspective, that for us to have the investment in this knowledge transfer, we had to incentivize the system. Take it a step further; as we move forward in the next five years, we now must be able to build, in the system, incentives for countries that are going to invest in innovation, technology, and the high skilled areas that will bring higher paying jobs and create higher paying opportunities. That is the next phase …and this company is positioning itself well,” the President stated.
The Head of State went onto link his administration’s sound policy-making to these types of investment and development that has advanced Guyana and supported the country’s diversified economy.
This, he added, is “…not in a single barrel method, but understanding what is meant truly by diversification and what is meant by investment to create a diversified portfolio of growth, development and prosperity – and that is what we are witnessing here today.”
“The mandate is not to develop laws for today, but to develop these laws and administrative mechanism for 30-40 years ahead of our time, because we are not in this just to launch and open these facilities. We’re in this to be a major competitor globally, and wherever the opportunities are, I want Guyanese companies to be competing for these opportunities – whether in Europe, whether in the Western Hemisphere… wherever they are. We are building the most skilled human capital that will go after every global opportunity. We are not building a local operation. We are building local companies with the best international partners to go after every world class opportunity. Watch out for Guyana, we are coming after every opportunity,” President Ali declared.