Guyanese warned of fake oil and gas overseas courses

Guyana’s burgeoning oil and gas sector has brought with it new economic opportunities for the country. It has also brought with it potential confidence tricksters, as the Natural Resources Ministry has issued an advisory for individuals to be on guard for fake oil and gas courses.
According to the Ministry in a statement on Saturday, there has been a noticeable increase in institutions of learning offering courses in oil and gas education. It stated that this was understandable and even expected as the country prepares itself for the emerging oil and gas industry. However, the Natural Resources Ministry is urging that interested persons be careful.
“The Ministry of Natural Resources is urging the public to be careful when signing up for online courses in oil and gas and to ensure that any programme being embarked upon is accredited. The Ministry hereby states that if the occasion arises, it will indicate publicly which institution, training programme or course for oil and gas related education it recommends or endorses,” it said.
The Ministry also urged potential students and interested parties to engage in their own due diligence checks before investing in any oil and gas related educational pursuit.
There has been much buzz within the country and afar in light of continuous reports of oil find in Guyana’s territorial waters, and as preparations are on-going to get the country ready for production, Guyanese are looking to equip themselves to benefit from the many opportunities that such an industry provides.
In fact, the Guyana Oil and Gas Association (GOGA) has been staging a series of Oil and Gas seminars with presentations featuring international experts, educating Guyanese on the emerging industry.
In fact, two weeks ago, the Association held an Oil and Gas Conference and Exposition to promote long lasting business relationships and unlock possibilities that will deliver the ultimate business setting to succeed in today’s competitive hydrocarbons marketplace for the local and international partners.
“This forum will provide the mechanism for information sharing to those who are interested in the development of the local oil and gas sector. The event will allow for the building of business collaborations to drive the growth of our new oil and gas sector and for all participants to be better able to understand the business of oil and gas for our world class reservoir. The event will give both individuals and businesses the opportunity to explore the areas of potential along the supply and value-chain of the oil and gas sector,” Chief Executive Officer of GOGA, Bobby Gossai Jr, had stated in a release prior to the conference.
United States-based oil giant ExxonMobil made its first oil discovery back in May 2015 followed by several other successful drilling exercises. Its latest find was back in February.
The company announced two weeks ago that it has seen “positive results” in its oil exploratory efforts in Guyana, this time confirming a new discovery in the Snoek well offshore Guyana in the Stabroek Block.
Drilling targeted similar-aged reservoirs as encountered in previous discoveries at Liza and Payara, Exxon had said.
“The latest discovery at Snoek demonstrates the continued success we have achieved in this technically complex play, which is just part of the significant exploration province offshore Guyana,” explained President of ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Steve Greenlee.
ExxonMobil began drilling of the Snoek well on February 22, 2017, and encountered some 82 feet (25 metres) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs. The well was drilled to a depth of 16,978 feet (5175 metres) in 5128 feet (1563 metres) of water on March 18.
The Snoek well is located in the southern portion of the Stabroek Block, approximately five miles (9 km) to the South-east of the 2015 Liza-1 discovery. Following completion of the Snoek well, the Stena Carron drillship has moved back to the Liza area to drill the Liza-4 well.