Oil & gas sector: Guyana must increase its skilled labour force – US analyst

…says creation of training institute step in right direction

If Guyana is to take full advantage of the growing oil and gas sector, it will have to increase the size of its skilled labour force to be able to take up positions in the sector as more and more Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels enter local waters.

This view was expressed by Co-Director at Americas Market Intelligence (AMI) Arthur Deakin, who in a recent missive offered recommendations to Guyana as it seeks to construct a local content framework that will include as many Guyanese as possible into the benefits of the oil sector.
He pointed to Ghana, which is providing technical assistance to Guyana in the area of local content, noting that while the country produces 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), the development of its energy sector suffered because of the low capacity of its local firms to take up the available jobs.
“The West African country, (which) is producing a fraction of the 1.4 million bpd expected in Guyana by 2040, is an example of a country that does not have enough local skilled employees to fulfil the energy sector,” the US analyst said.
“Guyana is faced with a similar scenario. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo recently admitted that the country could soon hit full employment although there is only one FPSO currently in operation—six more are expected by 2027,” Deakin said.
According to Deakin, Guyana would do well to among other things train more local employees to meet the exponential growth ahead. Referring to the draft Local Content Policy, Deakin noted that there are some positives.
These include requirements for unskilled local content, which he noted is high and ensures the participation of the local community. But he noted that there is a need for more skilled workers to be trained.
To handle the country’s newfound resources, the Guyanese Government estimates that it needs US$40 billion in onshore logistics and real estate investments. That is seven times the size of Guyana’s 2020 GDP. As the Government finalises the draft of its local content piece, it must consider the reasonable capacity of the country’s current local labour force.
“First, the Government can prepare by building an Oil and Gas Technical Institute, in addition to investing in primary and secondary education, to train skilled laborers. But it must also create a local content law that reduces highly technical thresholds and strikes the right balance between local participation and a friendly foreign investor framework,” Deakin said.
Another positive the analyst pointed out in the policy is that it sets out to create an oversight body composed of both public and private sector players, who would oversee the operationalising of the local content bill. He urged that to avoid weak regulatory practices, this body should be as depoliticised as possible.

Training school next year
During a recent press conference, Vice President Jagdeo had said that construction would start on a National Training Institute next year and that it is expected to churn out as many as 1000 Guyanese graduates per year for Guyana’s growing oil and gas sector.
Jagdeo spoke of local content and the efforts the authorities are making to come up with a robust policy and framework. One aspect of these efforts involves the Government taking advice from those with oil and gas experience, including from Ghana, which will be sending a team of experts to Guyana.
Another aspect is ensuring Guyana’s labour market is equipped to benefit directly from the growing oil and gas sector through training. This includes setting up a National Training Institute.
Earlier this year, it was announced that a new oil and gas training centre had been opened by the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC). The centre, located in Middle Street, Georgetown, was commissioned in the presence of Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat and Minister within the Public Works Ministry Deodat Indar.
ExxonMobil, which started oil production in the Liza Phase 1 Development of the Stabroek block back in 2019, has said it anticipates that at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027. (G3)