Home Top Stories Oil and gas sector achieves over 50% of 2024 hiring target –...
With as many as 454 persons hired within the first half of the year in the oil and gas sector, the Local Content Secretariat of the Natural Resources Ministry has already recorded over 50 per cent of the target for oil and gas new hires for 2024.
During a recent press conference, Local Content Secretariat Director, Dr. Martin Pertab had provided updated statistics covering the 2024 first half, on the employment of Guyanese within the sector.
Based on the Local Content Annual Plan submission guidelines, companies in the sector are required to list all current and forecasted employment. According to Pertab, there has been an increase in employment across numerous companies.
“As it relates to employment, following the submission of 40 major tier one companies and contractors, we’ve seen new hires within the first six months increase to 454, which represents 57.6 per cent of this year’s target.”
“While of course the total employment, which has now moved to 4,467 for 40 tier one companies. If we look across all tier one, tier two and even the contractors, the estimate is somewhere around 6,500, representing 65 per cent employment,” Pertab said.
Back in April, it had been disclosed that in the oil and gas sector over 900 Guyanese were employed as plant and machine operators; 1,203 as professionals, including accountants, lawyers, and engineers; and another 485 as technicians.
However, Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat had said in April that the Guyana Government was not satisfied with the number of locals presently employed in the oil and gas sector, considering the rapid development of the country’s economy.
During a discussion on the Guyana Dialogue programme, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat disclosed that Guyana is producing a total of 645,000 barrels of oil per day, and this number is projected to increase to 1.3 million barrels by 2027. As such, he believes that number of locals in the sector must complement Guyana’s oil and gas operations.
“6000 is quite significant, but we are not satisfied. We’re working right now to build out the Guyana Technical Training College in Port Mourant in Berbice, to ensure that we train more of our people so that they can be employed directly in the sector,” Bharrat had said.
Further, he said government has been in talks with oil companies to offer scholarships to Guyanese, so they can develop their knowledge of the industry.
Other findings
Meanwhile, other findings released by Dr. Pertab includes the fact that expenditure in oil and gas reaching US$314 Million as of June, 2024. Additionally, 54 women-owned companies were registered with the Secretariat. Their services include accommodation, food supply and catering, janitorial work and catering.
In December 2021, the National Assembly passed the Local Content Act which outlines 40 different service areas that oil and gas companies and their subcontractors must procure from Guyanese and Guyanese-owned companies.
These include 90 per cent of office space rental and accommodation services; 90 per cent of janitorial services, laundry and catering services; 95 per cent pest control services; 100 per cent local insurance services; 75 per cent local supply of food; and 90 per cent local accounting services.
The Local Content Act mandates penalties such as fines ranging from $5 million to $50 million for oil and gas companies and their sub-contractors who fail to meet the minimum targets of the legislation, as well as those who are in breach of the Act. (G3)
