More than 2,000 Guyanese supporting ExxonMobil’s operations

– Over Guy$14B spent locally during first half of 2020

U.S oil giant ExxonMobil has pumped more than Guy$14B into Guyana’s economy over the last six months while creating employment opportunities for thousands of Guyanese.

Well over 2,000 Guyanese are directly and indirectly involved in ExxonMobil’s operations here in Guyana, accounting for 55 per cent of the total workforce.

Esso Exploration and Production Guyana’s Public and Government Affairs Advisor, Janelle Persaud made the disclosure on Wednesday, while offering an update on ExxonMobil’s Local Content efforts in the budding oil and gas producing nation during the first half of the year (2020).

According to her, the U.S oil giant’s direct workforce grew to 155, more than 50 percent of which are Guyanese.
“Capacity building is an ongoing process for ExxonMobil Guyana and its direct Contractors, with more than 100,000 hours of training provided to Guyanese staff as of the first half of 2020. Approximately 80 percent was in the areas of Professional/Technical and Craft/Trade training. More than 50 Guyanese have trained internationally in countries such as Brazil, Canada, Singapore, Trinidad, United Arab Emirates and United States, to gain hands on oil and gas experience to leverage in Guyana,” Persaud detailed in a statement.
She said notwithstanding the challenges faced as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, more that GUY$14B was spent locally in the first half of 2020. It was noted that more than 600 Guyanese suppliers were used for services ranging from foodstuff to engineering.

“What we’ve done to date is remarkable, and I want to build on our local content accomplishments,” said President of ExxonMobil Guyana Alistair Routledge. “Continued growth of Guyanese capabilities is exactly what we want to see and we remain committed to supporting this development,” he added.

According to Persaud, the Centre for Local Business Development continues to be very supportive of local businesses with a transition to virtual courses. Additionally, nearly 100 electronic tender notifications were released to over 2400 Guyanese companies, and the Centre continued mentorship of 10 Guyanese companies in the process to be compliant in the ISO 9001 quality management system.

Looking ahead, Routledge emphasized the importance of the timely approvals for future development projects like Payara, noting, “continual development of projects will help further progress local content and provide opportunities and confidence to the local business community, which will lead to additional opportunities for workers and continued capacity building.”

In addition to local content efforts, ExxonMobil Guyana continued to support activities across the country, contributing more than GYD$80 million to education, women and community empowerment, and environmental sustainability programmes in the first half of 2020.