Over 700 local businesses benefitted from oil & gas supplier forum

Having offered local businesses free services to make them competitive in the oil and gas sector for the last three years, the Center for Local Business Development (CLBD) recently wrapped up a five-day supplier forum.

The forum provided well over 700 local businesses that participated with information on upcoming procurement opportunities in the oil and gas sector, helping them to make strategic planning decisions ahead of time.

Director of the CLBD, Natasha Gaskin-Peters told the News Room that the businesses also benefitted from direct interaction with ExxonMobil and its prime contractors about upcoming business opportunities.

“We wanted to engage local entities on the procurement forecast from Exxon and its prime contractors to make strategic investments in preparation for what is to come,” she said.

The forum concludes today. “The forum this week was very good for local entities; they loved that engagement and the feedback is that they can now plan and make strategic decisions,” Gaskin – Peters added.

On day one, CLBD launched several prerecorded videos and followed up with several days of live question and answer sessions.

“They were able to speak directly to the prime contractors and submit questions… it is far-reaching, the oil and gas industry has a lot of spills offs,” she added.

The Centre’s Director said the categories of businesses that participated varied but she underscored that there was a gap in the technical area.