Prominent Guyanese law firm positions to benefit from oil and gas sector

The prominent Guyanese law firm of Hughes, Fields and Stoby has opened a law office in the United States oil capital, Houston, Texas, to tap into opportunities in the oil and gas sector.

Among the services that will be provided to oil and gas companies operating in Guyana, or planning to do so, are incorporations; labour advice; investment advice; provision of webinars on doing business in Guyana; expatriate orientation, and direct business-to-Government contact.
The Department of Public Information (DPI) reported that clients would also have access to the publication of a high quality, well-researched e-magazine titled ‘Guyana Oil and Gas Report’ that would provide all subscribers with critical information to guide their investment decisions.
The launch of the Hughes, Fields and Stoby USA PLLC in Houston, Texas, took place last evening at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.
Managing Partner of the law firm, Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes, explained that long before a potential investor even arrives in Guyana, the law offices of Hughes, Fields and Stoby would be on hand in Houston to guide clients and potential clients through what will be a complex process of establishing business relationships in Guyana.
“From legal representation right through to assistance with the appropriate business protocols and linkage to a network of officials in the public and private sectors, a client’s every need is attended to in ensuring the doors to doing business in Guyana are easily and readily open,” Hughes said.
Hughes noted that the Houston operation affords the firm an opportunity to present a new image of Guyana as the preferred destination for investment in the oil and gas industry.
“We, collectively, all of us Guyanese, get an opportunity to positively change the image of our dear Guyana. It is not often that the horizons of a country can change so dramatically in a positive sense overnight,” he said.
The law firm’s American partner, Greg Clark, will lead the Hughes, Fields and Stoby team in Texas. Clark is a former US Marine who had also worked for oil and gas companies ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum.Clark commended the law firm for abiding by required ethical standards and having an impeccable reputation. He said the goal is to expedite and encourage the coming to Guyana of not only additional oil companies or oil-related service companies, but hopefully the firm can be the portal for new industries, new companies coming to Texas beyond the oil and gas sector.
“I like to call it ‘legislative watchman’, that the firm will keep their eyes out for every law, rule, regulation or policy that could impact our clients,” Clark explained. He said the firm will provide a draft of that document, along with a memorandum summarising the potential impact that new legislation can have on the company.
Hughes, Fields & Stoby, in partnership with Access Point, is the first local legal and business protocol firm to establish a presence in Houston, Texas in recognition of the emerging important relationship between the American energy capital and Guyana, as an emerging energy powerhouse.
Also attending last evening’s event were the Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, wife of Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes; and Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin; Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson; Head of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe; United States (US) Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway; other members of the diplomatic corps, and members of the private sector.