In an effort to demonstrate its extreme confidence in Guyana and its emerging oil and gas sector, one of the world’s leading marine transportation companies, Harvey Gulf International Marine, on Wednesday officially opened its first local office in the country, situated at Kingston, Georgetown.
The event saw a number of officials including People’s Progressive Party Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, ExxonMobil Country Manager Rod Henson, and President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Guyana (AMCHAM Guyana) Zulfikar Ally, as well as several key members of the business community.
Delivering brief remarks at the commencement of the ceremony, AMCHAM Guyana President Zulfikar Ally applauded the work undertaken by the overseas marine company, while further underscoring the how it will contribute to both the marine and oil sectors.
“Your presence in Guyana will do more than just create jobs, it will lift industry standards in the oil and marine sectors, improve safety standards and safety culture, and can serve to streamline important aspects of health and safety at the national policy level through collaboration with the private sector and national authorities,” he noted.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Harvey Gulf Shane Guidry, in his feature address, asserted that the company is firmly committed to giving Guyanese the best opportunities and expose them to rigorous training at one of the top-notch facilities of the company. This will in turn prepare them to participate fully in the local operations.
“And the Guyanese people on board are well trained, no one gets hurt, they operate safe. Harvey’s commitment is the same commitment we have everywhere else, we will not spill drops in your waters, we do not want to hurt anyone, all of our safety procedures and policies will be followed everyday… we’re hiring as many Guyanese people as we can, and we’d love to see the day where it is a 100 per cent Guyanese. We are here to stay,” Guidry firmly stated.
The investment in its office and operations in Guyana is a significant signal of confidence in the future stability and development of the nation’s oil and gas industry, as the CEO concluded with committing to financially invest in its employees and Guyana. “We did set up a profit-sharing plan for our employees, so we’re not going to take everything out the country and take it somewhere else, some of the monies made in the region will be put back into the employees pockets to put back into the Guyanese economy,” the CEO said.
Harvey Gulf’s local office named Guyana Offshore Vessel Services Inc. (GOVS), is expected to build quality links and promote the company’s presence in Guyana’s oil and gas sector with the aim of achieving 100 per cent Guyanese recruitment.
