With a team from Guyana having participated at the Offshore Technology Conference in Texas, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has revealed that their presence resulted in increased foreign interest in local partnerships.
This is according to GCCI President Nicholas Boyer, who was at the time hosting a press conference on Wednesday. Boyer was asked what tangible benefits arose out of the Conference, which lasted from May 6-9.
“There were a lot of agencies or organisations interested in partnering with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce. And we had a number of non-resident companies interested in joining our membership. So from our perspective the trade mission was a success,” Boyer said.
According to Boyer, the GCCI team also participated in a supplier caucus sponsored by ExxonMobil, where they made presentations to between 300 and 400 of the oil company’s suppliers.
“I think that the information presented there satisfied a thirst for what was going on in the Guyana market. It really gave people an overview of the Government’s perspective, so we had the Department of Energy presenting…We also had the Guyana Geology and Mines presenting and they gave an overview of the basin. And then I presented and gave an overview of what the Private Sector was expecting from this oil find.”
Meanwhile, past GCCI President, Vishnu Doerga noted that investors seemed most interested in sectors such as transportation, logistics, equipment and supplies. He noted that individual companies have already made their connections with their foreign counterparts.
“In short, I think every company that was there found either similar companies that were in their industries or close and made connections that they could then use to import skill sets, systems and then begin to provide those services to the tier one oil companies.”
Guyana’s Government, through the Office for Investment (GO-Invest), collaborated with the GCCI to facilitate the participation of representatives from approximately 24 local companies and several state agencies.
The OTC provides a platform where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters.
The Conference was held at Houston’s NRG Park from May 4. Guyana’s participation at OTC is being funded by Private Sector sponsorship, along with approximately 20 per cent funding from the Government.
The Offshore Technology Conference was founded in 1969, and forms a series of conferences and exhibitions focused on the exchanging technical knowledge relevant to the development of offshore energy resources, primarily oil and natural gas.
