Edison Chouest Offshore officially opened its office in Guyana on Friday evening under the name G-Boats Incorporated. More than 60 Guyanese are employed with the company whose vessels supply the operations of ExxonMobil and its partners offshore.
Director of the Energy Department, Dr Mark Bynoe, along with Finance Minister Winston Jordan officially opened the office located on the corners of Quamina and Carmichael Streets, Georgetown.
Dr Bynoe in his keynote address noted that better days are ahead for Guyana.
“Occasions like these continue to demonstrate the positive strides the country is making as a place for doing business, investors’ confidence and emphasising that the benefits from the oil and gas sector will redound to Guyana and Guyanese,” Dr Bynoe is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.
G-Boats was incorporated in Guyana in January 2016. Daniel LaFont, Business Development Manager for Edison Chouest Offshore, said that he is extremely pleased to be working in Guyana.
LaFont noted that already more some 67 Guyanese are employed in entry-level positions on vessels as riggers, cooks and oilers with the opportunity for advancement. There are 10 boats working under the G-Boats name.
There are two Guyanese serving as first mates, positions just below the Captain. Three persons are working in the newly opened office and the company is looking for three more individuals to work in the office, LaFont noted.
“We are training them to move up … to higher positions. More drilling rigs means more employment,” LaFont noted.
President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Deodat Indar, noted that the introduction of G-Boats signals intent in the transferal of the safety and standard of operation to other industries. He also commended the use of local content.
“I’m happy to know that the population of ships… means more jobs for Guyanese and more offshoot of services that will be provided by Guyanese,” Indar said.
Edison Chouest, a Louisiana, USA, was birthed 58 years ago. Today, the company has more than 200 vessels worldwide including offices in Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago and employed some 10,000 persons.
