The mere fact that Guyana’s local private sector was put on the international pedestal at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Huston, Texas was considered “a big deal for the country.”
That view was posited by Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Tuesday as he delivered a presentation at the conference on “Guyana: An Emerging Oil Industry in the Context of Net Zero Emission.”
“This is a huge, huge thing for us in a country that has a fledgling private sector,” the Vice President told the gathering.
Three decades of Guyana’s private sector activities, according to Dr. Jagdeo, was “downplayed” over the past years with the State control over 80% of the economy.
With that said, Jagdeo remarked “…so for fledgling private sector to come out here in such a large number and to be exploring the opportunities in oil and gas sector…this is really a great thing for our country.”
In that regard, the Vice President lobbied for potential investors in Guyana’s budding oil and gas to work with the local private sector.
“This has to be about the shared prosperity…it has to be the oil and gas investors making a decent profit or investment return on your investment but the prosperity has to be shared with the people of Guyana,” he outlined.
Guyana has set up a booth at the OTC with a team or more than 70 participants from the private sector.
The contingent comprises: Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo; Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd M.P., Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat M.P.; Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar M.P.; and Chief Investment Officer and CEO of GO-Invest, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop along with representatives from AmCham, GCCI, PSC, GM&SA and private businesses GUYSONS-GKB, GAICO, MID Atlantic OIL GAS, GOGEC, GYSBI, GTT, ExxonMobil Guyana and Halliburton.
The OTC’s flagship conference is held annually at NRG Park in Houston.
The event is sponsored by 13 industry organisations and societies, which collaborate to develop a technical programme for energy professionals to meet to exchange ideas and opinions on advanced scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources, and environmental matters.
Guyana’s participation at the OTC is necessary for local content development.
It provides opportunities for local businesses to network and seek partners in pursuit of emerging opportunities here.
Participation would also help to attract more of the Supply Chain opportunities to Guyana’s shores. Education, connection and networking are the major focal points of this mission.
