Home News Increased demand for products & services recorded in every economic sector –...
– says multiple int’l companies setting up regional bases locally
One of the developments in Guyana’s economy, brought on by the oil and gas sector, is that there is an increased demand for goods and/or services in practically every economic sector in the country – a demand that investors can very well take advantage of.
During a recent event that featured investors from a United Kingdom (UK) trade mission, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh spoke about the impact that Guyana’s status as an oil and gas producer has had on other economic sectors.
“What that has done is it has triggered a wave of…increased demand in every single sector of the economy. Every single sector. Whether it is supporting services for the oil and gas sector and all the big international companies that provide support services to oil and gas are here,” Singh explained.
“I say to people it doesn’t matter what you’re supplying, whether it hospital beds or hotel rooms or hot dogs or hamburgers. There is demand for more than we currently have for supply… there is room for more goods and services, in every single sector of the economy.”
According to Singh, the companies making Guyana their regional base include SLB Schlumberger, which provides technical support to ExxonMobil Guyana for its operations in the Stabroek Block; SBM Offshore, which provides front-end engineering and design services for most of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels being used by ExxonMobil; Baker Hughes, which has an oil field service facility in Guyana to support upstream oil operations and Saipem, which does subsea installations for Exxon.
“All of the big service providers around the globe are associated with major oil developments and provide critical inputs into the oil and gas effort, are here. And they’ve established operations and they’re looking to ramp up their operations to serve.”
“Not only Guyana, but ultimately, potentially Trinidad and ultimately Suriname. And further afield. So many of them are setting up what will ultimately be their regional and sub regional headquarters in Guyana,” Singh said.
According to Dr Singh, this effect can be seen not only in oil and gas but other sectors like the construction sector. He cited the massive construction activities currently ongoing, including both the government and the private sector side. And what these projects have in common, is that they rely heavily on prefabricated steel.
“To put things into perspective, there are eight internationally branded hotels that are under construction right now, across the wide spectrum of brands. Marriot, Hilton, we just opened an Aiden by Best Western. Hyatts. So, across the entire spectrum, there are about eight internationally branded hotels. We’ll probably by next year add 3000 hotel rooms in Guyana.”
“There are 12 regional hospitals under construction. ExxonMobil is building their local headquarters. We are building two major new government office complexes; we’re building a new major police installation… I can easily list about 20 major construction projects, the bulk of which are in the private sector, but a few of which are in the public sector. all of which are using prefabricated steel structures.”
The increased demand for local goods and services has manifested itself in various ways. For instance, in the forestry sector, there has been a reduction in the export of raw materials such as logs, despite growing production.
This, according to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) back in August, was due to the increase in local demands and more value-added products being produced here.
When it comes to the demand for goods and services in the oil and gas sector, there are currently 1032 companies registered with the Local Content Secretariat, meaning they are in possession of a Local Content Certificate to confirm they are a Guyanese company and are eligible to supply oil and gas operations.
The Local Content Secretariat has also recorded a 15 per cent increase in the number of youth-owned businesses registered to supply goods and services to the oil and gas industry. (G-3)
